Innocent Sickness
by ShutUpAndPaddle
Summary: Horatio falls ill with a potentially life-threatening illness, will he walk away unscathed? Will it bring the team closer together or pull them apart? There's the potential for a few surprises along the way!
1. Chapter 1

**Innocent Sickness**

**Chapter 1**

It was just another standard day in Miami. It was a Friday morning and Horatio was just waking up. He woke up and went for his usual morning jog and then jumped into the shower. He had a headache this morning, which wasn't usual for him. He didn't often get headaches, but he decided to ignore it and forget about it. He got to work early, like usual and began to sort out paperwork. He rubbed his neck as he sat back reading a case file which was just about to be closed, just to double check on it. Zoë knocked on the door and entered when Horatio answered.

"Good morning Horatio." She said with a fresh smile as she strolled over to the desk.

"Good morning Zoë, how may I help you?" He asked as he looked up at her with heavy, tired eyes, but she'd managed to make him feel a little better. She seemed to brighten up the room.

"I was wondering if you had the case file from yesterday? I just want to check something out." She said as she stepped closer and smiled down at him.

"Yes of course, here it is." He said as he lifted a file from his draw and handed it to her from behind his desk.

"Thank you." She said with a gleaming smile as she leant over and took it. He nodded at her with a small forced smile as his headache was beginning to get considerably worse. "Are you okay?" She said whilst lowering her eyebrows, sensing that something wasn't quite right. Horatio never usually looked exhausted.

"Yeah, I'm good." He said with another forced smile as he looked up at her.

"Horatio… what's wrong? Are you feeling okay?" She asked as she put her hands on her hips tilting her head at him with a mild frown.

"There's nothing wrong, I just have a little headache, that's all. It'll go away soon." He said with raised eyebrows trying to brush it off as he gave her a fake, reassuring smile as he blinked a few more times at her.

"Hmm, well if you need anything, I'll be in the AV room." Zoë said as she took her hands off her hips. He nodded and she turned around to walk out. She looked back and raised the file.

"Thanks again." She said as she walked out and then watched him slowly nod.

Over the past few weeks, Horatio and Zoë had become really close friends as had Alexx and Zoë and Ryan and Zoe. Zoë was fitting in so well and all the staff loved having her around. She was such an easy going person that it was hard not to like her, but people knew that she liked her space and that it was easy to get on her wrong side.

She was in the AV room looking over a few tapes when Ryan walked in and joined her.

"Hey there, what are you looking at?" Ryan asked casually as he leant against the desk with an easy smile.

"I'm just going over these tapes from the Annabelle case, I just feel like we perhaps have missed something." She replied while she intensely concentrated on the case as she was sat leaning over the desk and lightly bit her lip.

"What are you looking for?" Ryan asked curiously as he glanced down to the case and moved closer.

"I don't want to bias you." She said while concentrating and then pointed to the frozen screen. "Look, what do you see there?" Zoë said as she sat back and looked up to Ryan. Ryan looked at the screen and analysed it with intensity too.

"It's the killer touching the wall briefly, but he was wearing gloves. We can't get any prints." Ryan said as he stood back and crossed his arms then looked down at Zoë.

"Look closer, he doesn't have his gloves on yet. I'll bet money on that that is our suspect down in the holding room." Zoë said still looking up at Ryan. Ryan took a closer look.

"Oh yeah! Why didn't we see that before?" Ryan asked questioningly.

"Perhaps we were too caught up in trying to get the killers face?" She said as she crossed her arms.

"Yeah… I'm going to drop by and try and get those prints." Ryan said as he slowly moved for the door.

"I'll join you." She said as she got up and they walked out of the AV lab together. Eric was in trace working another case. Ryan and Zoë walked down to their hummers. They drove over to the crime scene and pulled the prints with ease. They were on their way back to the lab before they knew it. Ryan ran the prints against the suspect.

Meanwhile, Horatio's headache was getting worse, he was finding it a lot more difficult to concentrate and was starting to get very tired. He went to get a coffee and sat back down at his desk and carried on with his reading and paper work.

Zoë walked into the prints lab and found Eric running the prints against the suspect. The screen showed a match so they interrogated the suspect again who eventually gave the confession, along with all of the evidence against him he was going to get life imprisonment. He seemed happy enough about the murder and began gloating about how easy it was.

"Well Mr. Hitcher, I hope you're just as happy with your cell for the rest of your life." Zoë said with a smirk.

"I'll be out before you know it, and I'm going to get you." Stanley Hitcher said with venom.

"We'll see about that Mr. Hitcher, take him away." She said as she looked at the officers. They took him away and she turned to Ryan and sighed with a smile, happy that they had caught him.

"Coffee?" Zoë said with a smile walking out of the room.

"Definitely" Ryan said as he followed her, they walked in to the break room and Ryan sat on the sofa. Zoë passed him a coffee as she leant against the wall. Eric walked in and asked them if they had seen Horatio as he needed to speak with him.

"No, I've not seen him; perhaps he's just nipped out? If I see him I'll tell him that you're looking for him." Zoë replied and then sipped her coffee.

"Yeah, same." Ryan said looking up at him from the sofa.

"Okay, thanks." Eric replied.

"Do you want a hand?" Ryan asked.

"No, I've got it, thanks." Eric replied as he walked out of the room. Eric picked up his phone and phoned Horatio. But he didn't get and answer so he walked outside to see if Horatio's hummer was gone. It wasn't.

Zoë and Ryan got back to work on different things.

Eric pulled his phone out again.

"Hey Zoë it's Eric, Horatio's hummer is still here, he's not answering his phone." Eric said concerned as Horatio usually always answered his phone.

"Okay, I'll give him a ring; you know what he's like. He's probably gone on a wander to think the case through."

Zoë pulled her phone out of her pocket and gave Horatio a ring. The phone rang but he didn't answer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

When Horatio didn't answer, Zoë started to wonder what he was doing. She wandered through the lab and took a look around. She looked over to his door and it was half open, if he was out it would be shut, unless Eric had left it half open. She entered the room and there was no sign of Horatio so she turned back around and began to walk away. '_Hmm, he must be down in autopsy with Alexx, but that wouldn't give him a reason not to answer his phone. I bet Eric hasn't checked down there though.'_ She thought to herself. However, she turned back around, because her brain was telling her to take another look in Horatio's office. She walked into the room and behind the desk she saw Horatio lying on his back seemingly unconscious on the floor. She ran around the desk and kneeled down beside him.

"Horatio?" She called out. She put her cheek to his mouth and nose. She felt his warm breath on her cheek. She lifted his head and pulled his jaw forward to make sure his airways were completely clear. He let out a small moan. Zoë leant over his head and with her thumb opened his eyes. He let out a small cry in pain.

"Horatio, can you hear me?" She placed her hand on his forehead.

"Jesus Christ, you're burning up! Horatio, can you hear me? Open your eyes for me please." She placed a hand on his shoulder and she could feel him burning through his jacket and shirt. He turned his head to right where she was kneeling.

"No Horatio try and lay still… hold on, what's that?" She saw something on his neck. She placed a hand on his head to steady it and the other hand on his neck to try and get a closer look at it.

"No." She whispered. She let go of his head and neck and quickly unbuttoned the top 3 buttons of his shirt. She gently ran her hand over his chest looking at it closely. He let out another low moan.

"Zoë?" he asked quietly and slowly with a dry mouth.

"It's okay handsome; it's going to be okay. I've got you." She said as she ran her hand through his hair and pulled out her phone with her other hand. She rang Alexx. Alexx had just finished an autopsy.

"Hi Zoë." She answered her phone sweetly.

"Alexx, I need you to get to Horatio's office immediately."

May I just add that where you see ... that means there is a pause, different authors use different styles - that's my style. :)

Thank you for reading. Next chapter will come later today or tomorrow (Friday) in English time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Hi Zoë." She answered her phone sweetly.

"Alexx, I need you to get to Horatio's office immediately."

"Why baby?"

"I've just found Horatio barely conscious, he had a headache this morning, he's really burning up and he's got a rash over his chest… I think it's…."

"Okay, I'm on my way up now." Alexx cut her off and grabbed a few things like a thermometer and some blankets.

"You're going to be okay Horatio." Zoë said as she gently ran her hand through his hair. Zoë opened his eyes again and moaned in pain.

"I'm sorry honey, is it the light?" She said as she placed her other hand on his shoulder as he nodded.

"Horatio, can you tell me where you are?" She said quietly as she gently stroked both his shoulder and ran her hand through his hair in hope of keeping him calm.

"Ice hockey arena." He answered. Zoë's eyes grew wide, he had just confirmed her worst thoughts. Alexx rushed through the door and around the desk. She kneeled down to the left of Horatio.

"Look." Zoë said as she pulled his shirt apart slightly.

"He's confused, he's burning up, he's sensitive to the light and he probably still has a headache." Zoë said quickly as Alexx looked at her. They looked down to Horatio and Alexx put the thermometer in his ear.

"Horatio, I'm just taking your temperature, okay." She said calmly. She looked at it once it had beeped.

"39.7, we need to get him to the hospital now."

"An ambulance will take too long, we'll take him in the hummer." Zoë said as she stood up.

"Good idea." Alexx looked into his eyes as Zoë ran to the door and shouted at Eric to come over.

"Eric, go and bring your hummer around to the front, we need to get Horatio to the hospital now!"

"What's wrong with him?" Eric answered seeing the fear and concern in Zoë's eyes.

"Just go and get it, we'll explain on the way there." Zoë snapped. Eric nodded seeing the seriousness of the situation and hurried out of the lab. Zoë grabbed the emergency wheelchair and brought it in.

"Alexx, you take the wheelchair while I lift him up, you then bring the chair in under him, okay?" Alexx nodded. Alexx took the chair from her as Zoë stood over Horatio with her feet firmly planted either side of Horatio.

"Be careful of your back Zoë." Alexx said.

"Alexx, right now, my back is the least of my worries." Zoë said calmly as she bent down and placed her arms under Horatio's arms. She pulled Horatio up into the sitting position and then supported his head with her right hand. She pulled him in close to her and exhaled as she lifted him up. Alexx quickly pushed the wheelchair in under him and Zoë gently placed him down. Zoë lifted his feet to put them on the foot rests. Horatio's head flopped back Alexx moved his head so it was resting against the handle. Then wheeled Horatio out, Zoë getting the doors. They got out of the building and saw Eric walking towards them with the hummer at the front. Horatio began to moan as it was very bright. Zoë reached into his pocket and pulled out his sunglasses.

"Wait, Alexx." Zoë said as she gently placed the sunglasses on Horatio. Eric ran back to the hummer and opened the doors.

"Alexx, do you want to get in the front and call the hospital and let them know what's happening?"

"Sure." she said as she put the brakes on the wheelchair which was about a meter from the hummer.

"We should get his jacket off before we get him in, it's not helping his fever." Alexx said. Zoë nodded and pulled Horatio forward as his head rested on her stomach as Eric pulled his jacket off and handed it to Alexx.

"Right, you get in Zoë, I'll lift him up and you then pull him along the seat, okay?" Eric said. Ryan had come out to see what all the commotion was.

"Ryan, get the wheelchair and take it in please, I'll ring you when we get to the hospital." Eric ordered Ryan. Ryan didn't get a chance to speak. Eric had lifted Horatio and sat in on the back seat resting against Zoë. Zoë placed her seat belt on and pulled Horatio up towards her. Eric shut the door once Horatio's legs were in. Zoë put her left arm under his left arm and around his chest to hold on to him. Horatio's head was resting on her shoulder with his left leg on the seat and right foot on the floor. Zoë's right hand rested on the side of his head to keep it steady. Eric turned the engine on.

"Ready?" Eric said as he pulled away. Alexx was already on the phone to the hospital.

"What's going on Zoë?" Eric asked concerned as he turned his blue lights on.

"He seems to have contracted meningitis, he's get the symptoms of it. Step on it Eric!"

Eric stepped on it. She could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he was breathing. She felt his breathing become faster and shallower.

"Alexx, his breathing isn't so good!" She nodded and notified the hospital.

"It's going to be okay Horatio; we're on our way to the hospital." Zoë said to him quietly. He moved his left arm and Zoë felt his hand hoping that his hand was still warm.

"Alexx, sepsis has definitely set in. His hands are cold, I can't see if his colour has changed." Zoë said very worried. Alexx turned around and relayed the information to the hospital.

"His hands are cold and he's very pale, ETA is in about 2 minutes, get your doctors outside now." Alexx still looking at Horatio, she placed her hand on his knee.

"It's going to be okay Horatio, we're nearly there." Alexx calmly said. Before they were already at the hospital, Zoë had taken her seat belt off, they pulled into the hospital and saw doctors and nurses waiting outside ready to take him, they had a trolley ready. Eric pulled up, jumped out and went round to Zoë's door. The doctors went round with the trolley as Eric opened the door. Zoë jumped out as she gently laid Horatio down as the doctors took over. They gently slid a board under him to help get him on to the trolley easily. They rushed him in, Nathan taking over and ordering everything.

"I want IV lines put in, I want a lumbar puncture performed, I want antibiotics administered now and I want an immediate MRI!" Nathan shouted as they wheeled him in. A doctor took them to the side and told them to wait in the waiting room and Nathan will go and talk to them once he's done. Nathan quickly glanced at Alexx and Zoë; they could see the look in his eyes. He wasn't happy and didn't look too hopeful. Zoë and Alexx looked at each other, not exchanging words, but they thought the same thing. They feared for Horatio's life.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

They gave each other a hug and God knows they both needed it. Eric left them and parked the hummer and walked back over to them.

"He's going to be okay, you two did a fantastic job!" Eric said as he was trying to reassure them. They walked through into the waiting room, all 3 of them shaken up from seeing Horatio in such a state.

"Hey, he's going to be fine. Horatio will pull through this, he's tough, he won't let something like this defeat him." Eric still trying to reassure them, but they both knew the seriousness of his condition and what it could potentially lead to. Zoë put her head in her hands and leant forward. Eric's hope was slowly dying as he could see how worried both Alexx and Zoë were, he knew that it possibly wasn't all going to be okay.

"What's the worst outcome of meningitis?" Eric gulped and asked curiously.

"Death." Alexx said sincerely.

"He could lose limbs, his kidneys could fail, his lungs could fail, his brain may swell and he could be permanently brain damaged, there's the potential that he won't be the Horatio we know if he recovers from this." Zoë said still with her head in her hands. Eric gulped wishing he had never asked.

"He's going to pull through this, you watch, he's going to be back at work next week, I guarantee it." Eric said in one last push for hope. Zoë looked up and turned her head to Eric seeing the fear in his eyes and how he was trying his best to comfort the both of them. Zoë exhaled and rested her head on Eric's shoulder.

"Yeah, you're right; he's going to get through this. He has to, he's Horatio." She said with a very small smile. They saw Nathan rush past the door. Their hearts all skipped a beat and hoped that he wasn't rushing to Horatio. He ran back past the other way.

"Alexx, he's going to be fine." Zoë said trying to reassure her as she lifted her head from Eric's shoulder. Alexx nodded. Eric phoned Ryan.

"Ryan Wolfe"

"Hi Ryan it's Eric, I need you to take charge while we're not there, Horatio's been rushed to hospital with meningitis and septicaemia?" He looked over to Zoë and Alexx for conformation. They nodded at him.

"He's in a pretty bad way and we're still waiting to find out what's going on." Eric said with sadness in his voice.

"He's going to be okay though, right?" Ryan asked worried.

"We don't know." Eric said bluntly. Ryan was silent.

"I'll try and make it back as soon as I can."

"Okay." Ryan said with a gulp. They hung up. An hour passed and they barely spoke to each other, all absolutely terrified about what the doctor was going to say when he came in. The door opened and Nathan stepped in. He looked down at the ground and all 3 of them stood up.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Nathan, what's going on? Is he okay? Please tell me he's okay!" Alexx said in a rush.

"We've managed to get his fever under control and we've got him on strong intravenous antibiotics, we've performed a lumbar puncture and it shows that he has contracted Meningococcal meningitis. He's suffering from septicaemia too, but we're taking care of that, his symptoms are less severe now. He's on oxygen and is receiving constant fluids. The MRI has shown that he has a small amount of swelling and pressure on his brain and spinal cord. He's relatively stable now and we're keeping a very close eye on him. It's too early to tell yet, but I think he's going to be okay, but he's not out of the woods yet and he's got a long way to recovery. It's lucky you brought him in when you did, any later and I don't think I'd be giving you news as good as this." Nathan said with a hint of worry still in his voice.

"Thank you Nathan, thank you so much." Alexx said as she threw her arms around him.

"Not a problem." He said with a small smile. Zoë's eyes lit up with hope.

"Thank you Nathan, we really appreciate it." Zoë said as she held out her hand, he shook it and nodded at her and did the same to Eric. Eric's smile grew.

"Can we see him?" Zoë said impatiently.

"Sure, he's hooked up to a few machines and has a few IV's in, I just want to warn you, he's not looking well." Nathan said cautiously.

"I know, we just want to see him." Zoë said impatiently.

"Very well, follow me." Nathan said as he turned around. All 3 followed him through to Horatio's room. There was a nurse standing at the left side of the bed. Zoë bit her lip and proceeded to the right side of the bed, not taking her eyes off the nurse. Alexx placed her hand on Zoë's back, she could see Zoë's eyes locked on to the nurse and knew it took something for her to be in the room with a nurse. Alexx could feel Zoë's muscles tense. Eric stood by the nurse. Zoë's eyes wandered down to Horatio's sleeping form, and relaxed a little.

"Have you sedated him?" Eric asked Nathan.

"No, he's just sleeping; he's going to sleep a lot." Nathan said as he once again checked Horatio's vitals. Eric nodded at him.

"Is there any family we can call for him?"

"No baby." Alexx kindly said to Nathan and he nodded.

"Give me a call if you need me." Nathan said as he walked out. The nurse was adjusting the IV bags and lines. Zoë reached out and gently stroked Horatio's forearm as Alexx held his hand.

"It's going to be okay Horatio; we're all here for you." Alexx said sweetly as she looked down at his calm face. Eric's phone rang.

"Delko"

"Hi Eric, we've got a call out, I need you to come with me, is that okay? Alexx is also being called out."

"Yeah, I'll be right there." He hung up.

"Alexx, we've been called out." Eric looked at Alexx. Alexx nodded and turned to Zoë.

"Are you going to be okay here?" Alexx asked curiously.

"Yeah." Zoë said with a nod.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Okay, call me if you need me and keep me up dated with everything." Alexx said as she gave Zoë a hug.

"Horatio, Eric and I have to go, I'll be back later." She said as she squeezed his hand.

"See you later H, get better soon!" Eric said as he looked at Horatio's calm face.

Eric and Alexx left, Alexx gave Zoë another quick glance. Not only was she worried about Horatio, but she was for Zoë too. Nathan came back in and looked at Zoë.

"Where's Alexx gone?" He asked as he walked over to Zoë.

"She was called out to a new case. Where's Horatio's gun? I assume you took it off. I need his gun now, for safety, I can't let it get into the wrong hands."

"Certainly, I'll go and collect his things for you. We had put his gun in the safe." Nathan turned around and walked back out. Zoë took Horatio's hand and Nathan walked back in with Horatio's things in a clear bag.

"Here you go." He said as he handed Zoë the bag.

"Thank you." Zoë said as she took the bag, she reached in and took the gun out. She cocked it and took the rounds out to check that they were all there. Nathan studied her as she checked the gun out. She placed it on the bedside table along with the rest of his things. The nurse reached over to adjust the IV line in the arm that Zoë had a hold of. She flinched, let go and took a step back and then backed up against the wall.

"Zoë? Are you okay?" Nathan softly asked as he stepped towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Her breathing was rapid and her heart was pounding against her chest wall.

"Zoë?" Nathan called. Zoë's eyes were locked on to the startled nurse. Nathan turned her head and met her eyes. He once again saw the fear in her eyes.

"Zoë it's okay." Nathan kept his hand on Zoë's shoulder as he turned around and looked at the nurse.

"Please warn her before you do anything like that again." Nathan said in haste. The nurse nodded. Zoë calmed down and stepped forward towards the bed again with her eyes still on the nurse. Nathan gently rubbed her back still sensing that she was terrified. She stepped close to the bed and picked up his hand the nurse was still standing back from the bed. His hand was hot; Zoë brought her right hand up to Horatio's forehead.

"Nathan, he's burning up again." Nathan picked up the thermometer and placed it in his ear.

"39.5 go and get me some ice packs please Nurse Smith! You're supposed to be checking that every 10 minutes!"

"I'm sorry, I forgot, I'm new."

"That is not an excuse!" Nathan said agitated.

"Go now!" Nathan said to the nurse.

Please review, I want to improve so I can give you - the readers a better reading experience.

My next story is in the planning stages, it's called 'A Spot of Trouble'. Visit my profile for details about when next chapters/stories will be posted.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The nurse rushed out and quickly came back with ice packs. Nathan placed the ice packs around his body.

"Excuse yourself please Nurse Smith."

"Yes, okay. I'm sorry Dr Taylor."

"It's too late for apologies." He said with venom. Nathan quickly popped to the en-suite and got a bowl of water. He wetted a cloth and wringed it out, he then placed it on Horatio's head. He picked up the phone and called for the cooling blanket to be brought up immediately. He then called for nurse Zara Jacobs to attend.

"I'll be a second Zoë, wait here." Nathan walked out of the door as nurse Zara was making her way to Horatio's room. Nathan stopped her.

"Don't make any moves towards Zoë, if you have to, you warn her. You try and keep your distance from her at all times, okay? Are we clear?" Zara nodded.

While back in the room, Zoë was looking at Horatio when his jaw clenched. She gently stroked his arm when his body became ridged.

"NATHAN!" Zoë screamed. Horatio's body relaxed and then he started to convulse.

"NATHAN!" Zoë screamed again. Nathan heard her and ran in to Horatio's room and found him seizing, he ran over to Horatio's bed and Zara entered the room.

"Get me 10mg of Lorazepam, now!" Zara ran out and returned with a syringe that she handed to Nathan, Nathan introduced the drug into Horatio's IV.

"I need an MRI now and where is that cooling blanket?" Nathan shouted. The nurse rang down to MRI. Horatio stopped convulsing and his body became peaceful again.

"They can take him now." She said.

"Zoë, we're going to take him down to MRI, are you going to come?" Zoë nodded as she picked up Horatio's things and his gun. Nathan wheeled him out and down to MRI with Zoë closely following. Zoë sat outside the MRI room once they had taken him in. 25 minutes later Nathan and Zara had wheeled him out. They were going back up to the ward and back to Horatio's room. Once they got into the room and settled Horatio back in, Nathan turned to Zoë.

"I'll come back once I have the results, I shouldn't be any more than 10 minutes, okay? Zara is going to stay in here to keep an eye on him, okay? If you need me, give me a ring." Zoë nodded, Nathan then walked out of the room. Zoë stepped up to the bed and gently stroked his arm. She called Alexx.

"Hi Alexx."

"Hi Zoë, is everything okay?" Alexx asked concerned. Zoë took a deep breath.

"Horatio's temperature spiked and he had a seizure. They took him for an emergency MRI and I'm awaiting the results now."

"Oh no, is he okay? Are you okay?" She asked concerned and stopped what she was doing.

"Yeah, Horatio seems fine now, and I'm okay. I'll let you know the results when I get them, I just thought I should let you know. Could you relay the information back to Eric, please?" Zoë said shakily.

"Of course baby. He's going to be okay. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." Zoë said with a lump in her throat.

"I'll be there as soon as I finish this autopsy okay, don't worry baby. Everything will work out."

"Yeah, I know Alexx… it's just hard to see him like this. I've never seen him unwell before."

"I know honey. Just hang in there; I'll be over in a few hours okay?"

"Thank you Alexx."

"No problem, I'll see you soon."

"See you soon." Zoë replied and they hung up. Alexx carried on with the autopsy. Zoë put her phone in her pocket and placed the bag with his things on the bedside table. Zoë got her phone back out and sent Alexx a message asking her to bring her handbag to the hospital when she comes over, then placed the phone on the side. Nathan walked back in with a cooling blanket.

"Good news, his brain isn't under any more pressure and hasn't swollen anymore. I think the seizure was caused by his temperature spike. I've upped his antibiotics, so that should be fighting the bacteria as we speak. We've just got to try and keep him cool ideally." Nathan said relieved.

"Thank you Nathan." She said with a caring smile. Nathan pulled the left safety bar down and pulled the blanket back. Horatio's shirt was half-buttoned up with leads attached to his chest and trousers still on, without the belt. He gave the blanket to Zara and placed the cooling blanket over him. He set it to the temperature he desired and then took Horatio's temperature again.

"38.4… hmm… at least it's better than it was earlier. I'm going to keep a close eye on this, but the blanket should take care of it nicely." Nathan said as he wrote something in his notes.

Nathan then brought the safety bar back up.

"I'll be back in about 10 minutes, okay?" He said with a small smile. Zoë nodded as she looked at Horatio. Nathan walked around to the right side of the bed and pushed the chair in behind her.

"Sit down, you'll be more comfortable." Zoë sat down and thanked him. She shuffled the chair forward closer to the bed and took a hold of Horatio's hand. She lost herself in deep thought and then Nathan returned.

"Daydreaming?" Nathan asked with a smile.

"Yeah." Zoë replied snapping out of it, she sat back in the chair and rubbed her face.

"Can I get you anything Zoë? Coffee?" Nathan asked seeing how exhausted she was.

"That would be fantastic, thank you."

"I'll get you one in a few minutes then." He said as he took Horatio's temperature.

"37.9, a little higher than normal, but certainly a lot better than earlier. It should be back to normal within another 10 minutes." Nathan said with a smile. He then opened Horatio's eyes to shine the light in, his pupils reacted well.

"Horatio, can you wake up for me? Can you open your eyes?" Horatio didn't respond to anything he said.

"He needs some more rest, but I expect him to wake up soon. He's going to be very drowsy, will have a headache and probably still confused." Nathan said with a smile.

"Okay, thank you Nathan." Zoë sat up in the chair and stretched her back.

"I'll just get that coffee now."

"Thank you." She said with a smile. Nathan left and returned a few minutes later with a coffee.

"Thank you! I can't explain how much I need coffee right now!" She said with a wide smile.

Nathan pulled up a chair and sat next to Zoë.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Zoë sipped her coffee as Nathan turned to her.

"How are you holding up?" He said with a sweet smile.

"Okay." She said defensively. Nathan knew he was treading on thin ice.

"If you ever need to talk, I'll always have an ear open for you." He said quietly.

"I know, thank you Nathan." She said attempting to cut him off from asking anymore questions.

He understood and got up.

"Give me a ring if you need anything." He said with a kind smile as he left. Zoë nodded. 5 minutes after Nathan left, Alexx walked in and sat down next to Zoë. Zoë updated her about everything.

"How are you holding up?" Alexx asked concerned.

"Well, I could've shot the nurse who neglected to check on his temperature that ultimately caused his seizure." She said getting stressed again. Alexx looked over at Zara.

"It wasn't her, Nathan sent that nurse away."

"Okay, hold on baby. I'm just going to go and find Nathan. I'll be right back." Zoë nodded. Alexx got up and strolled out of the room to find Nathan. 5 minutes later they both returned, Nathan checked on Horatio again and made sure his temperature was okay.

"It's 37.3, it's back to normal now, we just need to keep it at that now." Nathan said looking at Alexx then to Zoë. They both smiled. Alexx sat next to Zoë.

"That nurse has been suspended for malpractice, and certainly won't be treating Horatio or any other seriously ill patient for a very long time." Alexx said with relief, knowing that it'll put Zoë's mind at ease for a little while. Zoë nodded with a relieved expression. She looked back over to Horatio who was still very peaceful.

"I've got to go now Zoë, but Eric will be here later and at some point Ryan will be too. If you need anything, you just give me a call, okay?" Alexx said with a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you Alexx, I'll see you tomorrow." Zoë said with a small smile. She walked over to Nathan.

"You take care of them please." She said with a cheeky grin and gave him a hug goodbye. Alexx strolled out of the door and drove home.

"Zara, you can leave, I've got this." He pulled a chair up to the left side of Horatio's bed. Zara left and Zoë watched her leave.

"So, got any interesting cases lately?" Nathan asked raising his eyebrows.

"You know I can't discuss that with you." Zoë smiled.

"Of course." Nathan said with a small smile.

"So, are you and him…?" Nathan asked curious.

"No, we're just really good friends." Zoë said and smiled.

"Ah and no Mr Chambers?" He raised his eyebrows again.

"No." She looked at him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Nathan then got the sense that he was treading on thin ice.

"How long have you known Alexx for then?" He asked trying to lighten the mood.

"A fair few months now. How about you?" She asked.

"Oh, we're going back years now… got to be about 15 years now, she knew me as I started out in medical school." Nathan said with a small chuckle. Horatio exhaled and moaned. Zoë instantly stood up. Nathan stood and called Horatio's name. Horatio didn't respond to his name so Nathan shone the light in his eyes to see if they'd react normally. He opened Horatio's eyes and shone the light. Horatio moaned and tried to move away from it.

"Horatio, can you open your eyes please? It's Nathan." Nathan asked as he put his hand on Horatio's shoulder. Horatio's eyes fluttered as he tried to open them. He opened his eyes and looked up to Nathan standing over him, Horatio began to squint as the lights were too bright for him.

"Do you know where you are Horatio?" Nathan asked him softly. Horatio let out a small moan, Nathan didn't know whether he was trying to answer or was just simply moaning.

"Do you want me to turn the lights off?" Nathan asked softly.

"mmm" Horatio moaned and nodded. Nathan quickly turned the lights off and returned to the left side of the bed.

"Horatio, you're in hospital, you're unwell." Nathan said with his hand back on Horatio's shoulder. Horatio just took a deep breath and exhaled. Zoë began to stroke the back of his left hand. Horatio turned his head and looked at Zoë.

"It's okay; you're going to be okay Horatio." Zoë said calmly. Horatio smiled behind the oxygen mask and began to close his eyes. He quickly fell asleep.

"You'll find that he'll wake up for a few minutes and then drift back off to sleep again soon after. His body is a war zone at the moment and he's going to be exhausted, not to mention that the bacteria actually make him very drowsy and tired. It's nothing to worry about." Zoë looked up at Nathan she seemed a lot happier knowing that Horatio was okay and relatively coherent considering what he's going through. She sat back down and held his hand still.

"Can I get you anything? Coffee? Food?" Nathan asked.

"A coffee would be brilliant thank you." Zoë said stifling a yawn.

"I'll be back with it in about 10 minutes; I've got to check on a few other patients." Zoë nodded at him and he left. Zoë lost herself in thought again and was interrupted by Nathan walking back in with two coffees in hand. He handed one to Zoë and walked back round to the left side of the bed, he placed his coffee on the tray and checked Horatio's temperature.

"37.2 – that's almost perfect, the blanket is doing wonders." Nathan said with a smile as he wrote a few things down in Horatio's notes. Nathan sat back down.

"He's going to be alright. He seemed pretty with it for someone who has just come round after suffering from meningitis and sepsis." Nathan said reassuring Zoë.

"Yeah." Zoë stifled another yawn.

"You saved his life earlier, you know that? Alexx told me you found him and did everything right. Not a lot of people would have known what to do or what it was. You'd be surprised about how little people know about such a serious illness." Nathan said trying to praise her.

"I've had advanced training; I know what to look out for and what to do." Zoë replied.

"It's a useful skill to have! Where did you learn?"

"I learnt at a private clinic which runs courses for anyone that wishes to learn."

"It's good to know that people take those courses!" Nathan seemed impressed. Zoë nodded and yawned again.

"I'm terribly sorry; I'm just a little tired."

"Don't worry about it, you should get some rest, you've had a very long and stressful day. I'll be in and out every now and then to check on Horatio, I'll try not to wake you." Nathan said as he got up. Zoë sat back and lost herself in deep thought again. Her eyes began to slowly close as she drifted off to sleep. Nathan popped in every now and then and tried his best not to wake Zoë whilst he checked up on Horatio. About an hour later Eric and Ryan pulled up in their hummer. They found Horatio's room and walked up. They slowly opened the door and found both Horatio and Zoë fast asleep. Eric picked up a blanket and gently covered Zoë. She stirred slightly and Eric took a quick step back. Nathan walked in again.

"Hi, I'm Nathan, Horatio's doctor, can I help you?" Nathan said quietly as Ryan looked him up and down.

"Hi, I met you briefly this morning and a few months ago when Zoë was in here, I'm Eric Delko, CSI." They shook hands.

"I'm Ryan Wolfe; I also met you a few months back when Zoë was in." They shook hands too.

"How's he doing Doctor?" Eric asked.

"Please, call me Nathan. Horatio is doing very well, he's on the road to recovery, there's a long way to go yet, but the outlook is looking good." Nathan said with a smile.

"That's great news, thank you." Eric said with a big smile.

"Please excuse me." Nathan excused himself as he walked over to Horatio and gave him a quick check over. Eric and Ryan watched Nathan check Horatio over, Nathan glanced over at Zoë's sleeping form a few times.

"I've got to check on other patients now, if you guys need anything; call one of the nurses to get me or something." Nathan said as he began to walk out the room. They both nodded at him. After he left.

"What's wrong with you man?" Eric said with a smirk to Ryan.

"What? I just don't like the way pretty boy there looks at Zoë." Ryan said defensively.

"Pretty boy? Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately and I think someone's jealous." Eric said with a snigger.

"Who's a pretty boy?" Zoë asked sleepily as she sat up.

"Ah… erm…" Ryan fell over his words.

"It doesn't matter, I was just teasing Ryan." Eric said with a wide grin. While Ryan glared at Eric.

"You're like children!" She said with a wide smile and a small snigger. They both grinned at her.

"Thanks." They both said simultaneously and sarcastically. Zoë got up and gave Ryan a hug and then hugged Eric.

"How're you doing on the case?" She asked as she walked back round to her seat and sat down.

"We've made progress." Ryan said with a smile.

"Good." Zoë said with a sleepy smile.

"How are you holding up? You look tired." Eric said casually.

"Well, isn't that the cutest thing to say, I think you need to work on your compliments there." Zoë said with a cheeky grin. Eric shuffled on his feet and laughed nervously.

"I'm doing okay, just a little tired." She said with a smile.

"I need to get off now, I just wanted to know that Horatio was okay." Ryan said pointing to the door as he looked at Zoë.

"Have you both spoken to Nathan?"

"Yeah, he left just before you woke up." Ryan replied quickly.

"Ahh… is that why you guys were talking about a pretty boy?" Eric laughed and looked over to Ryan. Ryan's face dropped. Zoë giggled a little then sat up.

"You're both pretty boys too, and you know it." She said as she laughed. Eric laughed knowing she was teasing.

"I've kinda' got to go now. I'll see you tomorrow." Ryan said nervously.

"You know I'm only teasing you Ryan." She said with a wide grin. Ryan's face lightened up.

"I'll see you tomorrow, give H my best." Ryan said as he smiled at Zoë.

"Will do, have a good night." Zoë said with a smile. Ryan nodded and made for the door Eric nodded at Ryan as Eric went to sit down.

"Do you want to go home? Get a shower and freshen up, and get some rest? I can stay here for a little while." Eric said kindly.

"My car is at work." She said with a small smile.

"That's okay, you can use mine." He said as he threw the keys over to her and she caught them.

"Thank you Eric, I'll be right back." Zoë said as she slowly got up.

"Take your time, you don't have to sit by his side all the time." He said with a gentle smile.

"I do, I'd do the same for you, or Ryan. It's nice to know that someone's there for you." She held the keys up and then said:

"You're a star, thank you honey." Eric nodded at her. Zoë slowly walked out of the room knowing that Horatio was in good hands. Zoë got into Eric's car and drove home and the sun had begun to go down. She arrived home and jumped in the shower. She got out feeling refreshed and picked out another suit and shirt. She got changed and then sorted out her hair. She quickly dried it and slipped her jacket on and picked up a few things. She got back into Eric's car and then drove back to the hospital.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Horatio was resting peacefully, Nathan walked in a few times to check on him.

"You know, I don't think you could have picked anyone better to work with us. You've certainly got a good eye, I'll give you that!" Eric said with a small smile to Horatio. 2 minutes later, Zoë walked through the door.

"Thank you Eric, I really needed that!" Zoë said with a smile as she placed her bag down on the bedside table.

"I was expecting you to take longer. You should get some rest." Eric said.

"I can rest here; anyway it makes sense if I'm the one who stays here, because you've got work tomorrow. I've spoken to the chief, and he understands. He agrees that it makes sense for one person to stay rather than rotate. Otherwise we'd all have to be catching up on cases and more than likely won't be getting enough sleep with work and being here." Zoë said as she looked at Eric with a smile.

"Yeah, it does make sense really." Eric said. A nurse came in to check on Horatio as Nathan was preoccupied.

Sorry for the delay in posting this - busy weekend. I'm afraid that after this Thursday, my postings will slow down as I'll be heading back to University, which will inevitably be taking up the majority of my time, especially with re-freshers week! Keep an eye on my profile, I'll update that to tell you when they next chapters/stories will be posted.

Thank you :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The nurse walked over to the left side and stood beside Eric making sure the IV bags were all set up right and didn't need replacing. She then checked the IV lines and reached over to Horatio's left arm close to where Zoë was sitting. Zoë's reaction was to push the chair back as she flinched and quickly became breathless. Eric instantly stood up in shock; he'd not seen Zoë react like that before. The nurse backed off.

"I'm sorry." The nurse said cautiously, not understanding what she did wrong. Zoë stood and stepped back, backing up towards the wall. The nurse stood back, confused and looking at Zoë. Zoë's eyes were locked on the nurse. Eric cautiously walked around the bed.

"Zoë, it's okay." He said as he carefully and slowly approached her. He saw the sheer terror in Zoë's eyes.

"I'm sorry." The nurse explained as she tried to excuse herself. Eric reached out with his hand and gently placed it on her shoulder, not sure what to do or what was happening.

"Hey Zoë, you're okay." Eric calmly said. Zoë let out a long broken breath and inhaled again. She looked up at Eric.

"I'm… I'm sorry." She said with her voice breaking slightly. Eric clearly knew something was wrong as he looked into her eyes.

"You don't need to be sorry." Eric said as he pulled her in for a hug as they turned so Eric could keep an eye on the door, he wrapped his arms around her as she rested her head on his chest and gently put her arms around him. Nathan walked in and saw the seriousness in his eyes as Eric looked at him.

"What happened?" Nathan asked confused.

"I suggest you keep that nurse out." Eric said in haste with Zoë still in his arms.

"Right, I'll be right back." Nathan disappeared out of the door. Zoë and Eric pulled out of the hug.

"You okay?" Eric asked lowering his head to her level with his hands on both of her shoulders. Zoë took a breath.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Thank you Eric." She said with a small smile as she calmed down.

Nathan walked back in.

"I've had a few words with that nurse, okay?" Zoë nodded at him in appreciation as did Eric. Nathan walked over to Horatio and checked on him. The sun was almost behind the horizon now so Nathan switched the light on.

"If you need me, give me a ring or come and find me. I'll be back in about 20 minutes though." They both nodded at him. Zoë slowly walked back over to her chair and sat down. Eric walked back around to his.

"What just happened?" Eric asked very cautiously with his gentle eyes on her. Zoë didn't reply instead she just looked down at her feet. Eric decided that he wasn't going to push her, so he let it so.

"The sky is beautiful tonight." He said as he gazed out of the window just behind Zoë. Zoë turned around.

"Yeah it is." A small smile emerged from her lips.

"Do you want me to bring you anything tomorrow? A book or magazine?"

"A case file?" She said with a small grin.

"You're officially not working, you know I can't do that." They both grinned at each other.

"I know. A book would be lovely though, thank you." Zoë said with a wide grin.

"You got it." Eric said as he nodded.

"I'm going to head off now, will you be okay here?" Eric asked as he looked at her intently.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"You sure? If you need anything, you ring me, okay? I can be here within 5 minutes." Eric asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Really. Okay, thank you Eric." She said with a sweet smile. Eric got up and nodded to her and left. Zoë sat back in the chair and her eyes slowly closed again, she was exhausted. Eric got in his car and thought '_Oh, she smells so good… forget air fresher in my car, I should just get her to sit in here constantly.' _Eric smiled to himself. He then saw Zoë's face again and the fear on it. It got him thinking as he drove home. He was curious and worried about her and why she'd have such a reaction. He arrived home and parked on his drive.

Back at the hospital, Zoë had fallen asleep with her legs tucked up under her. Nathan walked back in and found her fast asleep curled up. He checked on Horatio and then walked around to the right and picked up the blanket that she had put over the safety bar when she got up. He gently placed it over her. She stirred a little so Nathan took a step back and went back over to Horatio. He replaced the IV bags and went to check on his other patients quickly. It was soon his time to finish work. He went back into Horatio's room with is paperwork and sat down on the left of him. Nathan certainly had a soft spot for Zoë and respected Horatio very highly. His relationship was growing with both of them. He began to write things down on the paperwork and his eyes grew heavy. He soon fell asleep with his head back and paperwork on his lap with one leg resting on his other leg by the ankle. A few nurses came in very quietly just to check Horatio's vitals. At about 6 in the morning Zoë began to stir and moaned. It woke Nathan up; he sat up and rubbed his eyes. They focused on Zoë's scrunched up face, she seemed to be in pain, or was dreaming of pain. She threw the blanket off on to the floor.

"No!" Zoë said and then woke up and bolted up to sit up straight. She realised where she was, she rubbed her face and took a deep breath.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 **

She sat up in the chair and focused on Nathan.

"You okay?" He asked a little concerned by the dream she just had.

"Yeah, I'm fine thanks. What are you doing here so early?" She asked squinting her eyes.

"I never made it home, I sat down here to keep an eye on you both otherwise Alexx would have my throat and I fell asleep." He said with a grin.

"Oh Nathan, you didn't have to." Zoë said sleepily with a small smile.

"Not a problem." He said as he got up and checked on Horatio.

"Coffee?" Nathan asked as he checked Horatio over.

"That would be amazing, thank you." Zoë said as she got up.

"I'll be right back with that." He said with a smile. He left and Zoë popped into the en-suite, she brushed her teeth, went to the loo and splashed her face with water to wake herself up. She went and stood at the window and looked out when Nathan walked back in. She turned around as he approached her with a coffee. He handed her the coffee.

"Thanks." Zoë said with a smile. Nathan walked round to the left hand side of the bed and sat in the chair. Zoë sat down in her chair.

"How did you sleep then?" Nathan asked as he sipped his coffee.

"Relatively well, actually considering I slept in a chair!" She said with a smile.

"Yeah, same here, then again, I quite often fall asleep at my desk." Nathan said with a smile.

"I know what you mean! I quite often wake up in the early morning at my desk and have to take myself to bed!" She said with a smile and sipped her coffee.

Eric knocked on the door and came in. He held up a couple of books. Zoë put her coffee down and got up.

"Ahh Eric, you're such a darling!" Zoë said as she gave him a quick hug. Eric handed her the books as she went to sit back down at the chair. Eric pulled a chair up next to Zoë. Nathan was getting a little jealous about how friendly they were to each other.

"How's H doing?" Eric asked as his attention turned to Horatio sleeping.

"He's doing well; there's not been much change overnight, which is a good thing, because he's not gotten any worse."

"Good, thank you." Eric said with a smile.

"I've got to get to work now to make sure Ryan doesn't accidently blow anything up, but I'll be back later so you can pop home, okay?"

"Thank you Eric, have a good day." She said with a sweet smile.

"See you later." He said as he got up, he gave Nathan a nod. Nathan checked Horatio over again.

"I can probably start to wean him off the Oxygen slowly today, his breathing has certainly improved and his Oxygen sats are very close to normal now."

"Fantastic." Zoë said excitedly. She finished her coffee. Horatio let out a long breath.

"Hey are you with us Horatio?" Nathan asked gently.

"Mmm" Horatio moaned.

"I'm just going to shine this light in your eyes, it'll only be there for a few moments."

"Mm" Horatio moaned. Nathan opened Horatio's eyes and shone the light. Horatio hesitated and tried to move.

"I know it's bright, I'm sorry. I'm finished now."

"Can you open your eyes, Horatio?" Nathan asked. Horatio fluttered his eyes open.

"Hello, it's me, Nathan. Do you know where you are Horatio?" Nathan asked softly but relatively loudly.

"La…b" Horatio said dryly and quietly, the then took a gulp.

"You're in hospital Horatio." Nathan informed him, he placed two of his fingers in Horatio's right hand.

"Can you feel me touching you?" Horatio nodded in response.

"Can you squeeze my fingers Horatio?" Nathan asked as he gently wiggled his fingers." Horatio's right hand didn't move.

"Okay." Nathan said as he leant over Horatio and placed two fingers in his left hand.

"Can you feel me touching you?" Horatio nodded once more.

"Can you squeeze my fingers Horatio?" He said as he wiggled his fingers again. Horatio loosely gripped Nathans fingers.

"Well done." Nathan said as Zoë studied him and watched intently.

Nathan brought his right hand up in front of Horatio's face.

"Can you follow my finger please?" Nathan moved his hand side to side and Horatio followed his finger.

"Well done Horatio, we're nearly finished now." He walked down to the end of the bed and pulled the safety bar down and gently pulled the blanket up. He took hold of Horatio's right foot.

"Can you feel me touching your foot?" Horatio nodded yes.

"Can you push against my hand?" Nathan asked as he gently pushed Horatio's foot up. Horatio didn't push down.

"Can you pull against my hand?" Nathan asked as he gently pulled Horatio's right foot down. Horatio didn't. Horatio shook his head.

"Okay, that's okay." Nathan said as he placed his hands on Horatio's left foot.

"Can you feel me touching your foot?" Nathan asked and Horatio nodded.

"Can you push against me?" He asked as Horatio managed to gently push against his hand.

"And pull?" Nathan asked. Horatio gently pulled.

"Well done Horatio." Nathan said with a smile. He looked up to Zoë.

Horatio turned his head to see Zoë standing watching, looking a little concerned. Nathan picked up Horatio's notes and began to write.

"Hello." Horatio said in a croaky voice. Zoë stepped forward.

"Hello you, how are you feeling?" Zoë said with wide eyes. Horatio brought his left hand up and tried to remove his oxygen mask.

"No, leave that on Horatio." She said with a smile as she took his hand and laid it back down on the bed. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"How are you feeling?" Zoë asked again.

"Marvellous." Horatio said with a small smile under the mask. A very wide grin appeared on Zoë's face, she knew he was being cheeky. Nathan looked up at them both and smiled slightly remembering that the both of them had the same conversation a few months back.

"Using my answers against me, huh?" She said as she quickly looked down and then back up to him. She saw the small smile on his face and relief flushed through her body.

"How are you really feeling?" She asked as she slowly rubbed his shoulder with her thumb.

"Like I've been… hit by a bus." He said exhaling.

"You're going to feel like that for a while Horatio, can I get you some painkillers?" Nathan said as he looked back up to him.

"No, no thank you." Horatio said quietly.

"Are you sure?" Nathan checked.

"I'm sure." Horatio answered, he looked down to find wires on his chest and lines in his arms and hand. He looked confused.

"You're in hospital Horatio, you've been very unwell." Nathan said gently and Horatio looked at him confused.

"You contracted meningococcal meningitis and then developed septicaemia; we've got you on strong antibiotics and fluids. We should be able to take the oxygen away soon." Nathan said with a smile as he leaned on the bed.

"You're going to be tired for a few days, but you're recovering quite well actually. You're lucky Zoë found you when she did, she did everything right and saved your life." Nathan said with a smile and looked up to Zoë. Horatio turned his head again and looked up to Zoë. He moved his left hand and placed it on Zoë's right hand which was holding on to the safety bar.

"Thank you." Horatio said with sincerity with a smile.

"Don't mention it, you would have done the same for me." She said with a smile and placed her left hand on his.

"You've got weakness on the right hand side of your body, but you'll slowly regain the strength." Nathan said as he looked back down to Horatio's notes. Zoë let go of Horatio's hand and she smiled at him. Horatio took a deep breath and his eyes slowly closed as his grip loosened on Zoë's hand. Zoë looked up at Nathan who looked at her. She looked worried.

"Don't worry, he's just fallen asleep." Nathan said with a calm expression. Zoë nodded relaxing and sat down.

"He's doing very well; I'm very impressed with his recovery so far! He's going to have to have another CT today, we'll probably take him down around mid-day." Nathan said as he turned the oxygen down slightly.

"Thank you Nathan." Zoë said with her eyes brightening up. Nathan nodded at her.

"I've got to go and check on a few patients, I'll be back soon though." Nathan said as he began to walk out, Zoë nodded at him and sat back in the chair. She picked one of the books that Eric had brought over when her phone rang. Alexx rang to check up on Horatio. Zoë updated her and said that things were looking positive. Alexx said that she'd be over later. They said goodbye and hung up. Zoë buried herself in the book and began to read. Nathan came in a few times and didn't disturb Zoë. An hour later and Horatio made a sound, he moaned a little. Zoë stood up against the bed.

"Hey you, are you awake?" Zoë asked softly.

"Uh-mm." Horatio softly mumbled.

"How did you sleep?" She asked.

"Well." He answered very quietly and dryly. He licked his lips to moisten them. Horatio lifted his left hand up to his face and tried to remove the mask again.

"Horatio honey, try and leave that alone."

"Can… you turn the… lights off please?" He asked.

"Certainly." Zoë turned the lights off for him and walked back over to. The room was still light.

"How are you feeling?" Zoë said as she stood by him. Horatio just looked straight up at the ceiling.

"Horatio?" Zoë asked.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Horatio?" Zoë asked.

"Horatio?!" She said louder. The colour drained from his face and his heart rate was uneven.

Zoë ran to the door and shouted Nathan's name, he was walking down the corridor when he heard her. He turned around and looked at her and began to walk towards her.

"Nathan hurry! It's Horatio!" Zoë shouted and Nathan began to run. He pulled Zara from behind the desk and ran in; he saw that Horatio's vitals were everywhere.

"He was just talking to me when he became unresponsive, he went pale and then his heart rate went funny!" Zoë said loudly running over to Horatio with Nathan following her. He pulled the safety bar down.

"Horatio?" Nathan called out. He shone the light in his eyes.

"Call the neurosurgeons now and get me an MRI instantly! One of his pupils has blown." He pressed the emergency alarm.

"Zoë, stand back for me please." Nathan said as he listened to Horatio's chest. Horatio's oxygen sats dropped rapidly. 2 nurses ran in to the room.

"I need to intubate." Nathan said as he pulled the pillow from Horatio's head. He took the oxygen mask off Horatio as one of the nurses handed him the equipment. Nathan stood behind Horatio's head and intubated him then bagged him. Nathan began slowly squeezing the bag.

"Take over Nurse Points." Nathan said as the nurse came over and took over.

"Nurse Jacobs, where are we at with the neurosurgeons and MRI." Nathan shouted.

"MRI can take him in 10 minutes, the neurosurgeons are on their way down now." Zara said.

"Thank you." Nathan picked up the heart monitor and placed it on the bed between Horatio's legs. The other two nurses unhooked the IV bags and held them up.

"We're going to take him down to MRI now, step on it." Nathan said taking the breaks off the bed. Two neurosurgeons ran through the door.

"Zoë stay here, I'll come back in a moment." Nathan said as he quickly turned to her. Nathan updated the neurosurgeons and they went down to MRI with Nathan. Zoë leant against the window and pulled out her phone. She phoned Alexx.

"Hi Zoë."

"Alexx, it's not good. They've just intubated Horatio, they've taken him down for an emergency MRI and the neurosurgeons are involved. He's not looking good! They've just taken him." Zoë said with her voice almost breaking.

"Okay honey, I need you to calm down for me. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. He's going to be okay. He's in very good hands. I'll be right over when I finish this autopsy, it's going to be a few hours yet, but I'll come straight over." Alexx said with a gentle voice.

"Alexx…" Alexx cut Zoë off.

"Zoë, I need you to calm down. I know it's difficult honey, but take a few deep breaths. Just breathe. It's gonna' be okay." Alexx listened for Zoë to take a few deep breaths.

"There you go, I'll see if Eric or Ryan can make their way over." Alexx said calmly.

"Thank you Alexx." Zoë said with a calmer voice.

"No problem honey, I'll see you later."

"See you later." Zoë replied. Zoë put her phone away and leant her head against the window. Zoë just stood there for 5 minutes with her mind racing and her head against the window. Ryan entered the room and walked over to Zoë. He placed his right hand on her left shoulder.

"Hey, he's going to be okay." Ryan said very softly. Zoë turned and wrapped her arms around the middle of his back. Ryan wrapped his strong arms around Zoë. She took a deep breath against his chest with her forehead against his neck.

"You should have seen him Ryan, he really didn't look good. He had dark circles around his eyes, that's not a good sign. It's not good at all."

"I know, I know. Just take a deep breath." Ryan said calmly as he placed a hand on the back of Zoë's head. He could feel her breath on his chest.

"That's it, deep breaths. It's all going to be okay."

"Thank you Ryan." Zoë said with her head buried against his neck and chest.

"It's no problem Zoë." Ryan said calmly. The door opened and Nathan stepped in. Zoë and Ryan broke from the hug, they looked at Nathan's expression.

Thank you all for reading, please review as I can then improve my writing to make you happier with my stories! :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Nathan was clearly not too happy.

"Horatio's been taken to ICU, his brain as swollen due to the bacteria getting past the membrane, plus the increased pressure from the inflamed meninges. Now, we've got him on Mannitol, which will hopefully bring the swelling down. If that doesn't work, the neurosurgeons are going to have to operate. We hope that he won't get to that stage." Nathan gulped.

"We've changed the antibiotics and we're using a more aggressive way of treating him, he's on the ventilator at the moment and we've got him under constant monitoring. He's a fighter, if all goes well, he could be out of ICU by late tonight. I'm afraid I can't let you in to see him at this point in time, but I will give you a ring when you can." Zoë nodded in silence, Ryan was also stuck for words. He nodded at Nathan. Nathan turned and walked out of the room feeling awful. He leant against the wall outside and ran his hands through his hair. He dropped his hands down to his sides and went back over to ICU. Zoë leant against Ryan and slowly wrapped her arms around him again. He placed a hand on her head and wrapped his arms around her again.

"Come on, let's get you home." Ryan said calmly against her head. Zoë slowly nodded her head and pulled away from Ryan slowly placing her hand on his chest. They saw the worry in each other's eyes. Ryan gently put his arm around Zoë's shoulders and slowly guided her out of the room after she picked up her bag and Horatio's things.

"Can you take me to the lab please? My car is there."

"You sure you're okay to drive?" Ryan asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Zoë said taking a deep breath. They walked out of the hospital and got into Ryan's hummer. Ryan pulled away from the hospital, Zoë seemed to be daydreaming. Ryan gently placed his hand over Zoë's on her leg.

"Hey, he's going to be okay." He said as he gently squeezed her hand.

"Yeah, I know." Zoë said as she exhaled. Ryan placed his hand back on the wheel and they pulled into the Miami-Dade employee car park.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay to drive back?" Ryan asked as he stopped the car by Zoë's.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you Ryan, I really appreciate it." Zoë got out, closed the door and walked round to her car. Ryan pulled away and drove out of the car park and parked it outside the front of the Lab. Zoë sat in her car and sat back. She exhaled and hit the steering wheel with her right hand. She ran her hand through her hair and took a few deep breaths. She put her keys in the ignition and placed her seatbelt on. She pulled out of the car park and drove home, she parked in her drive and walked into the house, she then made herself a coffee and went for a shower.

Back at the lab Ryan walked through the lab, very stressed.

"Ryan." Eric shouted from another lab. Ryan walked over to the door and leant against the frame. He rubbed his face with one hand then looked up to Eric.

"What's going on? Is H okay?" Eric asked seriously. Ryan looked down to the floor and scratched his cheek with the back of his thumb.

"They don't know, there's the possibility that he's going to have to have brain surgery." Ryan said as he dropped his hand to his side and stood up straight and crossed his arms.

"His brain has swollen and they're giving him Mannitol. If that doesn't work, the neurosurgeons are going to operate." Ryan said looking at Eric. Eric exhaled and closed his eyes.

"That's an osmotic diuretic, isn't it?" Eric asked curiously. Ryan nodded at him.

"Where's Zoë? How's she taking it?" Eric asked as he crossed his arms.

"She's gone home for now; Nathan will call her when she can see him. She's insisting that she's okay."

"How are you?" Eric asked concerned, seeing the worry in Ryan's eyes.

"I'm okay, it's all just a shock, I've never known Horatio to be unwell." Alexx walked by.

"Ryan, how's Horatio and Zoë?" Ryan explained everything to Alexx.

"Oh baby, he's going to be okay. I'm going to pop over to Zoë's to make sure she's okay." Alexx said calmly as she placed a hand on Ryan's arm. Alexx quickly disappeared. Eric and Ryan got back to work as best they could.

Zoë had gotten out of the shower and calmed herself down. She got changed into a new clean suit and shirt. She made some toast and sat in the living room with the TV on, she finished her toast and put the plate in the dishwasher. There was a knock at the door so she went to answer it. Alexx was stood on her porch. Zoë invited her in.

"Hey baby, how are you doing?" Alexx asked with a calm voice as they stood in the kitchen.

"I'm fine, thank you. Would you like a drink?"

"Oh no thank you Zoë." Zoë nodded and walked over to the living room.

"Do you want to come through? Have a seat." Alexx followed her through and sat on the corner sofa with Zoë.

"Are you sure you're okay babygirl?" Alexx asked as she sat down.

"I'm really okay, thank you." Zoë said with a small smile at Alexx.

"I know he's going to be okay." Zoë said looking at Alexx.

"Okay baby. I just wanted to make sure. Perhaps you should get some sleep, Nathan is probably going to call you later, so it may be best if you get as much rest in now before you go." Zoë nodded at her and agreed.

"Okay, you go and get some rest, you call me if you need anything or if Nathan calls you, I don't care if it's the middle of the night, I want you to call me okay?" Alexx said as she got up. Zoë stood up too and nodded at Alexx.

"Will do, Alexx. Thank you." Zoë said, they hugged each other goodbye. Zoë walked Alexx out and then closed the door. Zoë turned the TV off and walked upstairs. She got changed and put her pyjama shorts and top on. She climbed into bed and quickly fell asleep with her phone on loud next to her. At 1.30 in the morning her phone rang. She jumped up and answered it almost immediately.

"Hello?! Nathan, is that you?" Zoë answered.

"Zoë…" Nathan answered.

Thank you all for reading, trying to decide whether I should put the next couple of chapters up today?

Reiviews welcome.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Nathan?" Zoë lowered her tone waiting for Nathan to reply.

"Zoë is that you?" Nathan asked.

"Yes, it's me. How's Horatio? Is he okay?" She asked quickly.

"Woah, slow down… Horatio's stabilised and we're moving him out of ICU any minute, he responded very well to the Mannitol, the swelling has gone down considerably. I'm pleased with his progress. You'll be allowed to see him now."

"Thank you Nathan, thank you so much! I'll be over in 10 minutes." They hung up and Zoë jumped out of bed and got dressed. She jumped in her car and drove over to the hospital. She quickly parked up and walked into the hospital. She found Horatio's room and Nathan was standing over him.

"Nathan! Thank you so much!" She said as she rushed over to him and gave him a tight hug.

"Don't mention it." Nathan said as he placed his hand on Zoë's back. They pulled away from each other. Zoë walked around to the right side of the bed and picked up Horatio's hand. She put his belongings and her bag on the bedside table.

"I knew you could do it." She held his hand in both of her hands. She held on to Horatio's hand and pulled her phone out of her pocket with her right. She phoned Alexx and told her the good news. Alexx said she'd be there in the morning before she goes to work and that she'll tell Eric and Ryan the good news tomorrow. Zoë put the phone back away in her pocket.

"I can't believe that you're still here Nathan, you must be exhausted." Zoë said while stroking Horatio's hand.

"I quite often don't get any sleep, I'm used to it. It's my day off tomorrow anyway, I'll be able to get plenty of rest… well… today is my day off. You know what I mean." Nathan said tiredly. Zoë smiled at him.

"He should wake up in a few hours; he's likely to be very confused. I don't know what damage the swelling has done yet, but we'll find out once he wakes up. Hopefully, it's not done much damage at all, if any." Zoë nodded at him with a smile then looked down over to Horatio.

"Try and get some rest, you're looking tired." Nathan said caringly.

"You know, Eric's good a giving compliments like that too." Zoë said with a cheeky smile as she sat down still holding on to Horatio's hand.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, okay?" Nathan said as he put Horatio's notes down.

"Come on handsome, you can do this, I know you can. You're going to get through this and be back at work within 2 weeks, I know it!" Zoë said with a smile gently squeezing his hand. She sat back still holding his hand. She moved the chair closer to the bed, so she could keep a hold of his hand. She quickly fell asleep in the chair still holding on to his hand. Nathan walked back in and saw her asleep holding his hand. He took another look at his vitals and sat in the chair. Nurse Zara came in and looked at Nathan.

"You should be home now, Nathan." She said quietly trying not to disturb Zoë.

"I know, I'm just keeping an eye on him, it'll keep my mind at ease." Zara nodded and understood. She checked his vitals and walked back out. Nathan soon fell asleep himself, Zara checked on Horatio a few times during the night. Morning quickly arrived and Nathan woke up along with Zoë as the light shone through the window.

"Morning." Nathan said.

"Morning." Zoë replied rubbing her eyes and letting go of Horatio's hand.

"Coffee?" Nathan questioned.

"It's like you know me so well." Zoë replied with a smile. She sat up in the chair. Nathan nodded and smiled. He returned with two coffees, he passed one cup to Zoë and sat back down.

"Sleep well?" He asked.

"Yeah, you?" Zoë replied. Alexx walked through the door.

"Oh thank God, is he okay?" Nathan explained everything to her as Alexx sat down next to Zoë. Another doctor walked in. Nathan stood up and shook his hand.

"Alexx, Zoë, this is Zak Brunet he's Horatio's official doctor for today as it's my day off. He's a very good doctor and Horatio will be in excellent hands." Zoë and Alexx shook the doctor's hand. Zoë studied him a little and sat back down.

"I'll be off, I'll see you tomorrow. Give me a ring if you need anything." Alexx hugged Nathan goodbye and Zoë shook his hand. Nathan got into his car and drove home, he had a shower and sat on his sofa.

Zak checked over Horatio's notes and checked his vitals.

"I'll be back a little later to check on him." The doctor walked out. Alexx and Zoë sat back in the chairs and just talked. 30 minutes later Nathan walked back through the door.

"I thought it was your day off." Alexx asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It is, but I don't have anything else to do, I'd rather be here and make sure everything is in order." Nathan said with a smile as he went to sit down at the other side of the bed.

"You didn't have to Nathan." Alexx said softly with a smile.

"I know, but I wanted to." Nathan said looking at Alexx then to Zoë then back to Alexx again with a smile. Doctor Brunet came back in.

"Ah Nathan, what are you doing in?" Zak asked with a smile.

"I thought I'd just come in really." Nathan said as he stood to shake his hand again.

"You won't need to keep coming; I'll page you if something goes on." Zak nodded and exited giving Zoë and Alexx a nod. The three of them just generally chatted. Zoë and Nathan were getting to know each other more. Alexx saw the way Nathan looked at Zoë and knew that he definitely had a soft spot for her. Nathan regularly checked Horatio over.

"Do you guys want a coffee? I'm going to go down to the cafeteria and get something." Alexx asked.

"That would be fantastic, thank you Alexx." Zoë said.

"Yes please." Nathan said. Alexx disappeared and brought back 3 coffees. Zoë was stood at the window looking out and Nathan checking Horatio over again. Alexx handed Nathan the coffee and then walked over to Zoë and handed it to her. Two nurses walked in, one walked over to Nathan. Zoë turned and looked at the nurse by Nathan, not seeing the other nurse who was bending down behind Alexx picking up the blanket which had fallen from the back of the chair.

Unfortunately, I'll be slowing down with the posting of chapters due to my return to University Friday, however, I shall endeavor to to keep up the pace!

Thank you!


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Zoë's eyes were locked on the nurse as Alexx studied Zoë's response. The nurse behind Alexx stood up and turned around to face Alexx and Zoë. Nathan looked over and things just seemed to slow down into slow motion. Zoë flinched and brought her hands and arms in close to her chest in a defensive action, in the process the steaming hot coffee spilt all down Zoë's front as Alexx turned her head to see what startled Zoë. She violently inhaled in a gasp of pain. Nathan sprinted around the bed. Alexx turned back to Zoë and saw the coffee down her top. Nathan pulled the cup out of her hand and placed it on the windowsill. Nathan gave the nurse a look with daggers in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry." She said as she backed off and watched.

"Can I do anything?" She asked.

"No!" Nathan replied getting stressed. Alexx and Nathan placed a hand on Zoë's shoulders. Zoë's eyes and face was scrunched up, partly in panic and partly in pain from the scalding hot coffee that was just poured down her front.

"Zoë, come and sit down." They gently walked her over to the chair. Zoë opened her eyes; she was hyperventilating and her heart beating fast against her chest. The nurse grabbed tissues and walked over to Zoë, Zoë flinched again.

"Back off! Please" Nathan raised his voice. The nurse put the tissues on the bed and made her way to the door very confused.

"Zoë, let me have a look please?" Nathan said calmly.

"Honey, it's okay. She's gone. Let us have a look." Nathan gently held Zoë's wrists and pulled her hands way from her chest.

"Sit back, Zoë. It's okay. I've got you." Alexx said running a hand through Zoë's hair. Nathan gently pulled her jacket off. Nathan snapped on a pair of gloves and gently began to unbutton her shirt. He could feel her heart thump against her chest wall.

"It's okay Zoë, it's okay. Try and slow your breathing down. Breathe in… and out. Slow deep breaths, okay?" Alexx said trying to calm Zoë down. Zoë slowed her breathing down. Alexx could see her heart thumping against her chest. Nathan pulled her shirt apart and carefully examined her chest and stomach.

"Okay, the skin is red and hot, but there's no blistering, you've been very lucky Zoë, I'm going to get some special burns bandages. They're just going to soothe the affected areas and stop them from potentially blistering, okay?" Zoë nodded.

"It's okay baby, you're doing really well" Alexx said as Nathan got up and walked out.

He saw the nurse that caused it.

"You're lucky she's not severely burnt." He said as he walked past her to pick up the bandages.

Alexx spoke to Zoë gently and slowly calmed her down. Zoë's heart calmed down and she took a long deep breath and exhaled. Nathan walked back through the door with bandages and one of his scrubs top.

"I brought you a present, one of your favourite tops." He said as he held up the top. She looked up and gave him a small smile. He walked over and crouched down.

"Just sit back and relax, okay? This may sting a little." Nathan carefully placed the burns bandages on the affected areas after cleaning them with antiseptic.

"How are you feeling?" Nathan asked.

"Better, I'm good thanks." Zoë said still trying to calm herself down.

"Okay. We're just going to slide your lovely shirt off and put my gorgeous scrubs top on." Nathan slid the shirt off her arms and helped her to put the other top on.

"There you go." Nathan said with a smile. He placed his hand on her knee.

"Zoë, if you tell me what's wrong, I can help you. You don't need to worry, I won't tell anyone." He said with caring eyes looking up at her.

I will upload the next couple of chapters later today. Thank you, please review.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Zoë looked away and down at the floor.

"Okay honey." He said softly and stood back up with a gentle hand on her shoulder. Alexx and Nathan exchanged looks. Nathan walked back around to the left side of Horatio's bed and checked him over. Alexx placed her hand on Zoë's shoulder and Zoë looked round and up at her.

"Are you okay?" She said concerned.

"Yeah." Zoë said with a forced smile. Nathan looked up at them.

"You know, you can have the trousers that go with that top if you really want?" He said with a cheeky smile, he brought a smile to Zoë's face.

"I'd rather not, thank you." She said smiling at Nathan. Horatio's hand moved and then he moved his head.

"Horatio? Horatio, don't fight the ventilator." Nathan said as he pulled the safety bar down. Nathan opened Horatio's eyes and shone the torch in to them. Zoë stood up and took a step forward, as did Alexx.

"Good." He mumbled. Nathan placed two of his fingers of both hands in Horatio's hands.

"Horatio, squeeze my fingers if you can hear me." Nathan said wiggling his fingers. Horatio's left hand gently tighten around his fingers.

"Well done Horatio. I'm going to take the tube out of your mouth now, okay?" Nathan held the tube.

"On the count of 3, I want you to exhale gently, okay?" Nathan said.

"1…2…3" Nathan gently pulled the tube out as Horatio exhaled. Horatio began to cough a few times.

"Well done Horatio." Nathan said placing his hand on Horatio's shoulder.

"Can you open your eyes for me?" Nathan asked standing over him. Horatio fluttered his eyes open. Nathan placed the oxygen mask over Horatio's mouth and nose, Horatio then brought his left hand up and pulled the mask off while he closed his eyes.

"Horatio I want you to keep that on please." Nathan put it back on and Horatio pulled it off again.

"Horatio I need you to listen to me, please keep the oxygen mask on." Nathan said putting it back on. Horatio put his left hand on his head.

"Have you got a headache Horatio?" Nathan asked. Horatio nodded slowly.

"Do you want any pain medication?" He asked. Horatio shook his head.

"Are you sure?" Nathan asked. Horatio nodded his head.

"Open your eyes for me please." Nathan asked. Horatio opened his eyes again. Nathan checked over Horatio's responses to movement and touch in his hands and feet.

"You've still got weakness in your right side, but that should return soon."

"Are you able to speak with us?" Nathan asked. Horatio looked around. His eyes softened when he saw Alexx and Zoë standing by his side. Alexx placed her hand on his shoulder while Zoë took hold of his hand. They both smiled at him.

"Horatio, do you know where you are?" Nathan asked. Horatio turned his head back to him.

"Nathan?" Horatio said dryly.

"Yes, it's Nathan. Do you know where you are." Nathan asked concerned.

"Marvellous." Horatio said.

"You're in hospital Horatio, but just relax, okay?" Nathan said clearly.

"mmm." Horatio responded and closed his eyes and fell asleep.

"He's a little confused which is to be expected, but overall, I'm pleased with his responses." Nathan said with a smile as he wrote something down in Horatio's notes. They nodded at him with smiles. Alexx's phone rang.

"Sorry I've got to get that, I'm on call." Alexx answered the phone. She spoke on the phone and then hung up.

"I've been called out on a case, are you going to be okay here with Nathan? I'll be back later."

"Yeah sure." Zoë said. Alexx rubbed Zoë's back gently

"Okay, give me a call if you need me." Alexx said as she glanced over to Nathan. Nathan nodded. Zoë nodded.

"You take care of them, Nathan." She said with a smile.

"Of course." Nathan said smiling. Alexx nodded at him and picked her bag up. She slowly walked out glancing back at Zoë. Alexx got into her car and drove off. Zoë took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Are you okay?" Nathan said looking up at her.

"Yeah." She said with a smile.

"I'll change those bandages later." Nathan said with a smile. Zoë nodded at him. 10 minutes passed and Zoë just daydreamed. Horatio began to move again, Nathan looked up and stood. Zoë stood up too. Horatio opened his eyes.

"Are you with us Horatio?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah…" Horatio said dryly. He blinked a few times.

"Do you know where you are?" Nathan asked placing his hand on Horatio's shoulder.

"Hospital?" Horatio asked slowly.

"Yes, you are. How are you feeling?"

"Alright." Horatio answered as he tried to remove the oxygen mask again.

"Leave that alone please Horatio." Nathan said gently as he took Horatio's hand away from the mask and placed it on his chest. Zoë gently placed her hand on top of it. Horatio turned his head and looked at her.

"Why… why have you got scrubs on?" Horatio asked curiously.

"I spilt my coffee down my shirt, Nathan lent me some more of his scrubs." Zoë said with a smile. Horatio gently gripped Zoë's hand.

"You're definitely very alert! Horatio, I'm astonished!" Horatio looked back over to Nathan who was quite puzzled about how Horatio was so alert.

"Hey, try and get some rest Horatio." Zoë said gently. Horatio nodded and his eyes slowly closed, his grip slowly loosened on Zoë's hand and she sat back down when he let go.

"I will warn you now, there may be a few emotional changes going on in Horatio's head. He may get stressed very quickly, he could become clingy he could have temper tantrums and get stubborn." Nathan said cautiously.

"I think I can handle it, I think I'm just as stubborn as he is." She said with a smile.

"It's remarkable that he's doing so well so early, I think he's going to make a quick recovery and the antibiotics are definitely working." Nathan said as he sat back down. Zoë gave him a relieved smile as she sat back down. She slowly fell asleep while Nathan kept a close eye on Horatio. She woke up an hour later while Nathan was sat in the chair completing some paperwork. Zoë sat up.

"How long have I slept for?" She asked groggy.

"About an hour." Nathan said as he looked up.

"Did Horatio wake while I was asleep?" Zoë asked as she stretched.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"No, he's slept peacefully." Nathan said with a calm smile.

"Good." Zoë said with a smile. Zoë reached into her bag and pulled out the book. Ryan walked in through the door. Zoë's face lit up as she stood to greet him.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Ryan asked with a smile on his face.

"I'm good thank you." Zoë replied as she gave him a quick hug. Nathan and Ryan nodded at each other.

"How's Horatio doing?" He asked as his eyes settled on a sleeping Horatio.

"He's doing really well." Nathan said. Ryan smiled at him as he sat next to Zoë.

"How's your case going?" Zoë asked.

"It's going very well, we've nearly nailed the killer." Ryan said with a wide grin.

"Why have you got a scrub top on?" Ryan asked with a smile and lowered eyebrows very curious.

"I accidently spilt coffee down my shirt." Zoe said.

"Ahh, I see. Suits you." Ryan said with a cheeky grin.

"Shush pretty boy." Zoë said with a growing grin and sniggered. Ryan began to laugh.

"Hey!" He said whilst laughing with a massive smile. They grinned at each other. Nathan looked up and smiled, happy to know that Zoë's relaxing, but he felt a little jealous. The both of them looked over to Horatio who had just moved his head to the side.

"We weren't too loud were we?" Zoë asked Nathan.

"No, no amount of noise will wake him at the moment he's pretty hard to wake, I think he's just stirring from sleep." Nathan said as he stood.

"Horatio can you hear me? Are you with us?" Nathan gently moved Horatio's head to look up. He shone the light in Horatio's eyes. Zoë stood up and so did Ryan.

"Are you with us Horatio?" Nathan repeated.

"mmm" Horatio mumbled. He turned his head and brought his left hand up to take the oxygen mask off again.

"Leave that alone Horatio." Nathan said gently.

"Mmm" Horatio mumbled again as he reached for it and pulled it off.

"Honey, leave it on." Zoë said as she gently placed it back over his mouth and nose. He opened his eyes slowly and blinked a few times to focus them. He put his arm back on the bed and left the mask alone. He looked at Zoë and gave her a small smile. His eyes then wandered over to Ryan.

"Ryan?" Horatio asked quietly.

"Hey H, yeah it's me, Ryan. How are you feeling?" Ryan asked gently yet a little louder than he would if he was just talking to someone, he was copying Nathan as Nathan spoke loudly.

"I'm okay, thanks." Horatio said with a smile behind the mask. A big smile developed across Ryan's face. Ryan knew that Horatio was going to be okay that instant. Horatio slowly fell asleep again.

"I'll be right back, I'm just going to update Zak about his progress." Nathan said as he began to walk out. They nodded at him as they sat back down.

"He's going to be alright, that's definitely the Horatio we know." Ryan said with a smile.

"Yeah, just a very tired Horatio." Zoë said with a smile as she looked from Horatio to Ryan. She looked into his greeny-hazel eyes and she saw the relief she was feeling.

"Thank you so much for yesterday Ryan." She said with a shy smile. Ryan reached out for her hand that was on the arm rest that she was leaning on.

"Anytime." Ryan said softly as he gazed back into her brown relieved eyes.

Please review - I shall try and post as soon as I can - the next week is going to be hectic, but I'll try my best! Keep checking back.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Zoë gently squeezed his hand.

"I really appreciate it." She said with a sweet smile and then looked back over to Horatio. Ryan leant back.

"It's okay, really, I'm here for you anytime." Ryan said softly. Zoë looked back to him and gently squeezed his hand. She sat back in her chair as she let go of Ryan's hand, she rubbed her face and took a deep breath. Nathan strolled back in.

"How's he doing?" Nathan asked to spark a conversation.

"The same really." Zoë said with a small smile.

"I should be off otherwise Eric will have by head off." Ryan said with a small smile.

"See you later Ryan, thank you for popping by." Zoë said as she stood up with him. She gave him a quick hug and Ryan walked away. Nathan met him at the end of the bed and they shook hands. Ryan drove back to the lab. '_Does she like me or not? Gahh, I don't know.'_ He thought to himself as he drove back.

Zoë leant forward and took a hold of Horatio's hand. She let go as she got her book out. Zoë read the book, 2 hours passed like it was 5 minutes.

"That must be a good book!" Nathan said looking up from his paperwork smiling.

"Yeah, it is." Zoë smiled back.

"What's it about?" Nathan asked curiously.

"Murder." She said with a small grin.

"Sounds lovely." Nathan said with a cheeky smile.

"Yeah, it's interesting. I like to try and figure out who the killer was before the author reveals it. Although, some of them are so unrealistic it's ridiculous." She said with a smile.

"Haha, I must agree that I do enjoy a good book every now and then, makes a change from medical journals." Nathan said with a smile. Zoë smiled at him. They went back to doing their thing and another hour passed.

"I think it's time to change your bandages." Nathan said looking at the clock.

"Sure." Zoë said pulling her head out of the book. Nathan got up and pulled some gloves on and picked up the new bandages as he walked over to Zoë. He sat in the chair next to her and pulled it closer.

"Could you turn your chair to face me please?" Nathan asked.

"Sure." Zoë said with a smile as she put the book down on the bed. She shuffled the chair around and Nathan pulled his chair in closer. He put Zoë's legs between his so he could get as close as possible.

"Just sit back and relax, it may sting a little, especially when I put the new ones on." He placed the closed bandages on Zoë's legs as he gently lifted the shirt.

"Do you mind holding that please?" Nathan asked and Zoë took a hold of the shirt. Nathan gently pulled the old bandages off and placed them on one of his legs ready to be thrown out. He opened a packet of antiseptic wipes.

"Zoë, is that a scar?" Nathan asked quietly looking at the right side of the ribcage, just under her bra.

"Yeah, it's old. Nothing to worry about." Zoë said as she still sat back.

"There's nothing in your notes about it? It looks like it was serious. Was it an operation?"

"Nathan, please leave it. There's a reason, but please just leave it." Zoë said getting a little frustrated. The scar was barely visible anymore, it was obviously old.

"Okay, sorry." Nathan apologised as Zoë looked up to the ceiling.

"This may sting a little, the burns have blistered a little, it's not too bad though, it certainly won't leave a scar or anything. It's just superficial." Nathan said as he gently dabbed the burns on her chest with the wipes. He moved down to the flat planes of her stomach and then placed the old wipes on to the old bandages. He opened a pack and pulled out a large burn bandage. He gently placed it on her stomach and then did the same to the burns on her chest.

"There you go." He said as he pulled her top down. He pushed his chair back as he picked up the used bandages and packets and threw them in the bin, he then snapped off his gloves and threw them in too. Horatio began to stir, he began to moan and squirm in the bed a little. Nathan went round to the other side of the bed.

"Horatio are you with us?" Nathan called out.

"Can you hear me Horatio?" Nathan called out again.

"I think he's dreaming." Nathan said a little confused looking down at Horatio who seemed to be in a bit of distress. Horatio moaned more and then suddenly woke up. He looked worried and terrified. Zoë stepped close to the bed. Horatio's body was tense.

"Hey, you're okay." Zoë said softly as she gently stroked his arm. Horatio looked over to her and took a deep breath. Nathan turned the oxygen down a little to try and wean him off it. Horatio looked around the room and his body relaxed slightly.

"I'm just going to take your temperature Horatio." Nathan said softly as he put the thermometer in Horatio's ear – it showed 36.8.

"It's a little lower now, I'm going to take the cooling blanket off you now, your temperature seems to have lowered and is within the normal limits. I'm going to put a normal blanket over you, okay?" Horatio nodded at him. Nathan gently pulled the blanket off Horatio and placed a new blanket over him. Nathan turned the cooling blanket off and placed it on the side.

"Are you okay?" Zoë softly asked Horatio.

"Yeah." He nodded with a small smile behind the mask. Horatio slowly drifted off to sleep again. Zoë sat back down in her seat and picked up her book. Nathan sat down and carried on with his paperwork. Zoë began reading her book again but quickly fell asleep with the book in her lap. 3 hours later Eric walked through the door. Nathan looked up and around to see who it was. Nathan nodded at Eric. Eric didn't want to wake Zoë, so he walked up to the side Nathan was at and quietly asked how Horatio was doing. Nathan explained everything to him and Zoë slowly woke.

"Sorry Zoë, I didn't mean to wake you." Eric said waiting to be stared at with daggers.

"You didn't wake me and hello." She said with a sleepy smile. She stretched as Eric walked around to the chair which was next to Zoë. He sat down.

"Do you want to quickly nip home and get changed out of the scrubs? Why have you got that on?" Eric asked.

"I accidently spilt coffee down myself." Zoë said.

"Oh, are you okay?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, only superficial burns." She said with a shy smile.

"The bandages are water-proof so they'll be fine in the shower." Nathan added.

"Bandages?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, only to cool the burns, they aren't serious or anything." Zoë said.

"Okay." Eric said looking at Zoë.

"I'll be back in about 30 minutes, thank you Eric!" Zoë got up and picked her bag up. She placed a hand on Eric's shoulder as she went to leave.

"Thank you Nathan." She said as she glanced back and then walked through the door after Nathan nodded at her. Zoë popped home, had a shower and changed.

Eric and Nathan chatted, about general stuff until Zoë returned.

"Ah, that's so much better! Thanks Eric!" She said as she walked through the door. She placed her bag on the bedside table.

"How is he?"

"He's good, he's just slept." Nathan said.

"Good." She said as she sat down.

"Christ, I've done nothing all day, yet I'm exhausted." She said with a small chuckle.

"It's because you haven't done anything." Eric said with a smile. Zoë smiled at him.

"Eric, thank you so much for the books, they've been a lifesaver." She said to him with a grin.

"No problem." Eric said with a smile. Zoë sat back in the chair.

"I should probably go, you really should get some rest Zoë, you're looking exhausted!" Eric said looking at her tired face.

"Hmm, a little more improvement needed on the compliments, Eric." She said with a cheeky grin.

"You know what I mean." He said with a grin himself. Zoë gave him a nod.

"I'll see you tomorrow; if you need anything give me a ring." Eric said.

"Sure thing, see you tomorrow, thanks Eric." Eric gave Nathan a nod and Nathan gave him a nod back. As Eric left Zoë sunk into the chair and pulled her feet up. She quickly fell asleep. Nathan picked up her book making sure not to lose her page and began reading it himself. An hour passed and Nathan himself fell asleep. He woke at about 3 in the morning and placed Zoë's book on the table. He checked up on Horatio who was sleeping peacefully. He gently pulled a blanket up over Zoë and sat back down in his seat. He quickly fell asleep again. Horatio woke at 4 in the morning and looked around. He saw Zoë sleeping curled up in the chair; a small smile appeared across his face as he fell asleep again. At 5.30am Nathan woke up, he got up and checked on Horatio. He left and popped home to get a shower and change his clothes. He drove back to the hospital and went back into Horatio's room. It was 6 in the morning and his shift started at 7. He sat back down and checked on Horatio. Horatio began to wake up himself.

"Hey, you with me?" Nathan asked quietly and gently, trying his best not to wake Zoë.

Nathan turned the oxygen down a little as Horatio nodded and then opened his eyes.

"How long… has Zoë been here for?" Horatio asked quietly and dryly.

"Since you came in – 4 days." Nathan replied, Horatio's eyes widened.

"4 days?" Horatio repeated and Nathan nodded at him.

"She has been home a few times and when you were in ICU she went home to get some proper rest."

"ICU?" Horatio questioned.

"Intensive Care Unit, the infection had caused the pressure in your brain to rise, you were seriously ill, but you're making excellent progress now."

"What was it? Meningitis did you say?" Horatio asked and Nathan nodded.

"How is she?" Horatio asked looking over at her curled up.

"She's fine, your whole team have been here a lot, they really care about you." Horatio looked down and smiled.

"I know." He said quietly.

"I can't believe she's actually stayed here… you know, with what her reactions are with nurses." Horatio said concerned.

"She's tried her best to deal with them; she's had a few… panics? If that's what you can call them. I can't seem to get through to her though, she won't open up. After earlier, I'm quite concerned."

"Earlier?" Horatio questioned.

"Boy, you never miss a beat, even when you're unwell!" Nathan flashed a smile hoping Horatio will drop it.

"What happened earlier?" Horatio asked trying to sit up.

"Stay lying down, and then I'll tell you." Nathan exhaled.

"She's going to kill me." Nathan said pinching the bridge of his nose. Horatio stared at him intently waiting to hear what he had to say.

"Zoë was stood by the window with Alexx next to her, they hadn't seen the second nurse come in and Zoë had her full attention on the nurse I was speaking to. The second nurse was down behind Alexx picking up a blanket. As she stood up she took a step towards Alexx and Zoë. Zoë pulled her arms up in a defensive position with a cup of fresh hot coffee in her hands. The coffee went all over her chest and stomach, the burns aren't serious, they're only superficial."

"What?!" Horatio raised his voice and Zoë stirred a little but didn't wake.

"Horatio don't worry, I've got it all under control. Zoë is fine." Nathan said quietly.

Horatio tried to pull himself up.

"Horatio lie back down, you're going to make yourself worse!" Nathan said sternly and quietly.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Zoë stirred from the commotion and slowly woke up. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Horatio, lie back down and relax please." Nathan asked again. Zoë stood up and looked up at Horatio still attempting to get up.

"Horatio what are you doing? Listen to Nathan, lie back down honey." She said gently with a hand on his shoulder applying a little bit of force to lie him down.

"Are you okay?" Horatio asked immediately.

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine, you should be concerned about yourself not me!" Zoë said with a concerned smile wondering what on Earth was going on.

"Relax Horatio." Zoë said as she planted her hand on his shoulder. Nathan ran his hands through his hair. Horatio slowly exhaled happier knowing that Zoë was okay, but still worried about her. Horatio relaxed his head as it sunk back into the pillow.

"There you go." Zoë said as Horatio relaxed.

"Well at least you listen to one of us." Nathan said with a bit of a cheeky smile.

"What was that about?" Zoë questioned.

"I was just worried about you." Horatio said quietly.

"There's no need to worry." She said with a sweet smile.

"How are you feeling?" Zoë asked softly.

"Just a little drowsy." Horatio said dryly.

"You're going to feel a little tired for a fair few days, but it should ease. Can you follow my pen with your eyes please?" Nathan asked as he pulled out his pen, Horatio tracked it perfectly well.

He then checked Horatio's motor skills, a little bit of strength had returned to Horatio's right side.

"Good news, your strength is already starting to return, you're making a remarkable recovery!" Nathan said with a smile as he wrote something in Horatio's notes. Alexx walked in.

"Horatio, you're awake! How are you feeling?" Alexx said as she walked up to the right side of the bed and stood by Zoë.

"I'm good thanks Alexx, just a little tired." Horatio answered quietly.

"Aww honey, I'm glad to see that you're awake and alert though." Alexx said as she placed her hand on Horatio's.

"How's work going? Any interesting cases?" Horatio asked.

"Horatio, you shouldn't be thinking about work at all, you should be purely concentrating on getting better." Alexx said with a smile.

"You know very well that I can't do that." Horatio said with a small smile.

"Yeah, well that's what you're going to do now. I'm not telling you anything about any of the cases we've got until you're fully better." Alexx said with a raised eyebrow.

"Speaking of work, I should probably get there. I'll see you later Horatio." Alexx said as she squeezed Horatio's hand gently.

"See you later." Horatio quietly said. Alexx flashed him a smile.

"I'll see you later Zoë. Ring me if you need anything." Alexx said as she let go of Horatio's hand and gently rubbed Zoë's left arm.

"Will do, I'll see you later." Zoë said with a calm smile.

"I'll see you later Nathan, you take care of these two."

"As always." Nathan replied. Alexx rushed off and drove to work.

"Try and get some more rest Horatio, you'll feel better the more you sleep." Nathan said softly. Zoe smiled at him and then sat down. Horatio exhaled as his eyes grew heavier, he tried to fight it.

"Honey, don't fight it, just rest. We'll be right here." Zoë said softly. Horatio's eyes slowly closed and he drifted off to sleep.

"I start my shift in a minute, do you mind if I take a quick look at your burns again, I just need to check that the burns aren't infected.

"Sure." Zoë replied.

"I'll be right back with some new bandages." Nathan said as he walked out and then returned. He pulled the chair next to Zoë closer as Zoë turned her chair.

"Could you unbutton your shirt please?" Nathan asked quietly as Zoë nodded at him. Zoë began to unbutton her shirt. She pulled the sides apart and sat back.

"Just relax." Nathan said as she pulled on some gloves. He gently pulled the old bandages off and placed them on his knee. He gently inspected them.

"Good news is that they aren't infected and the blistering is definitely going down, I'll put these bandages off and I think you can probably take them off tomorrow." Nathan said with a smile as he pulled one of the bandages out of the packet He placed it on her chest and then went to open the other packet when the door opened. Ryan walked in looked at Zoë and then turned right back around and walked out. Nathan placed the bandages on and Zoë stood up. She turned away from the door as she called out.

"Ryan you can come in." She had her back turned to the door as Ryan walked in.

"I'm sorry Zoë, I didn't realise you were…" He entered cautiously.

Nathan got up and threw the old bandages in the bin along with his gloves.

"It's okay, Nathan was just changing the bandages on the coffee burns before his shift starts." She said as she finished buttoning up her shirt. She turned back around and faced Ryan.

Zoë sat down along with Ryan.

"How's he doing?" Ryan asked looking at Horatio.

"He's doing very well; he's a lot more alert when he's awake now. I'd say that there will be no lasting damage, but I can't be 100%, there's always the chance that he could go downhill again, but we're in the positive at the moment. He's just sleeping." Nathan said with a smile.

"Thank you." Ryan said with a smile.

"My shift starts now, I'll be in and out throughout the day, okay? Call if you need anything." Nathan said as he got up and put his stethoscope around his neck.

"Thank you Nathan." Zoë said with a smile and Ryan nodded at him. Nathan left.

"He was awake for a little longer this morning." Zoë said with a smile looking at Horatio. Ryan smiled at her; she looked back round to him.

"How are you doing?" Ryan asked placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm good thanks." Zoë said with a smile.

"How's the burns?" Ryan asked cautiously.

"They're healing nicely, it's not going to scar, so I'm happy." Zoë said with a smile at him and then looked back over to Horatio. Ryan continued to look at her. '_She's even hotter than I imagined, even with bandages on. Smart, sexy and a great personality, why hasn't she been snapped up already?'_ Ryan thought to himself.

"Oh, I almost forgot, I got you something to eat. You've not eaten in days, so… I just got you a few things." Ryan said picking up a bag.

"Oh Ryan, you didn't have to!" Zoë said with a smile as she turned back to him.

"I wanted to." He said with a smile.

"Oh Ryan, you're such an angel. Thank you." Zoë said looking into Ryan's green/hazel eyes.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Ryan passed her the bag with a sandwich, crisps, drink and a couple of chocolate bars.

"No problem. I need to shoot off now, Eric's waiting for me at the lab, I'll pop by later though, if you need anything, ring me?" Ryan said with a smile.

"Of course, I'll see you later." She said as she stood up with Ryan. She gave him a hug, the aroma of Zoë's hair overwhelmed Ryan, he inhaled and tried to savour the smell – fresh and fruity. They broke out of the hug.

"Thank you again Ryan." She said with a sweet smile.

"No problem." He said again with a smile.

"Give him my best." Ryan said looking over to Horatio. Zoë nodded at him as he left. She sat back down and smiled to herself. Zoë ate the things that Ryan had gotten her; she wasn't hungry until she took the first bite. She sat back and then eventually fell asleep. Meanwhile, Nathan had logged onto the computer and searched in Zoë's notes – there was nothing from when she was under the age of 25. '_That's strange, she's definitely been in hospital before, but there's no notes. She obviously doesn't want to talk about it. I should leave it alone, really. She could get me fired if she found out I was looking behind her back! What on Earth do I do about this? Should I leave it? Or should I proceed with it? I can't lose my job.' _Nathan thought as he looked at the screen and exhaled. '_I guess I should just leave it, she obviously has a reason._' Nathan thought to himself, he walked in and out a fair few times to check on Horatio who slept quite peacefully. Hours flew by and Zoë was still sleeping. Alexx swung by while Nathan was in the room. Zoë coughed a few times during sleep which caused them to look over to her, she quickly settled. Alexx and Nathan discussed a few things and Alexx then left. Horatio woke up slowly. Nathan walked over and quietly spoke to him, making sure that he was okay. Horatio fell asleep once again and Nathan carried on checking up on him whilst attending other patients. Another half an hour passed and Zoë coughed again in her sleep. She shifted and woke up slightly but quickly fell asleep again. Nathan came back in to check on Horatio and quickly disappeared. The sun had started to go down and Ryan then turned up. He saw Zoë asleep and quietly entered. He sat next to her and looked over at Horatio who began to stir. Ryan stood up as Horatio began to wake. Horatio lifted his head and looked down at Zoë and Ryan. Ryan walked around to the left side of the bed.

"Hey H, how are you feeling?" Ryan quietly said hoping not to disturb Zoë.

"Like I should be getting back to work." Horatio said with a small smile.

"I'm sure you'll be back in no time." Ryan said with a small smile.

"How are you and Eric getting on?" Horatio asked waiting for Ryan answer.

"We're doing really well; the chief has gotten some temporary CSI's in for now, just until you're back. Eric is acting head. Don't worry; we've not destroyed the lab." Ryan said with a smile.

"Well that's put my mind at rest!" Horatio said with a small smile.

"How's Zoë?" Horatio asked looking down at her sleeping in the chair.

"She's good, she's just tired." Ryan said with a smile. Nathan quietly walked back in and stood next to Ryan. Nathan checked Horatio over and then checked his motor skills.

"Your strength has definitely made a big improvement. Can you lift your right arm?" Nathan said with a smile. Horatio tried to lift the arm; he managed to lift it a few inches off the bed, but couldn't lift it anymore. He placed his arm back on the bed and let out a long breath.

"Well done." Nathan said.

"H, I've got to go now, I'll see you tomorrow though. Hope you feel better and stop worrying." Ryan said with a smile. Horatio nodded at Ryan. Ryan slowly walked out.

"Try and get some more rest, I don't think she's going anywhere soon." Nathan said with a smile quickly glancing at Zoë.

"I'll be back a little later okay." Nathan said as he began to walk away. Horatio's eyes began to close and he drifted off to sleep. Nathan returned half an hour later and checked on Horatio. He then went home, had a shower and got some rest. Zak took over Horatio's care for the night. Zoë and Horatio both slept throughout the night. Nathan returned at 7 in the morning and checked on Horatio who was still sleeping. Zoë began to wake and stretched.

"Hello you, have a nice sleep?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, I've got a bit of a stiff neck now though!" Zoë said with a small smile.

"Did you sleep throughout the whole night?" Nathan asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I must have!" Zoë said stifling a yawn.

"Wow, you must've needed it then!" Nathan said smiling whilst writing in Horatio's notes.

Zoë rubbed her neck and blinked a little to wake herself up properly as she sat up in the chair.

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked as Zoë stood up and stretched her legs.

"Yeah, just got a little headache." Alarm bells went off in Nathan's head.

"Zoë, sit down for me please." He said while he walked over to her.

"Why?" She questioned.

"Just sit down please." Nathan said as he sat on the chair beside Zoë's.

"Look at me for a moment." Nathan shone the light in Zoë's eyes and she pulled away.

"Is that bright?" Nathan asked.

"Well yes, it's a torch.' Zoë replied sarcastically.

"Do you feel sick?" Nathan asked still looking into her eyes.

"No." Zoë replied.

"How bad is your headache?" Nathan asked growing concerned.

"Not bad, it's probably because I slept in a chair for hours." She said with a small smile.

"How bad is your neck?" Nathan asked.

"Not that bad, it'll sort itself out in a while… you're not thinking…" Zoë asked.

"Yes, I am. Wait here." Nathan got up and immediately returned with a lumbar puncture kit.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

"A neurologist will be down in 2 minutes, she'll have to perform it, as I'm not a neurologist." Nathan said growing concerned.

"There's no need to worry. I haven't got meningitis!" Zoë said as she got up again.

"Well it's to be on the safe side, okay? Now sit down please." Nathan said as he rose and put his hand on her shoulder and sat her down. The neurosurgeon came in.

"Hi Zoë, I'm Liz, I'm just going to perform a lumbar puncture okay? It won't take long."

"Hi." Zoë said as she shook the doctor's hand.

"If you could please sit on the chair sideways please and lean forward and pull your shirt up?" Liz asked. Zoë did as she asked.

"Okay, sharp scratch." Liz warned as she drew the CFS fluid from Zoë's spine. Liz pulled the needle out and placed a swab on Zoë's back and held it there.

"Good news, the fluid is clear, you've not got meningitis." Liz said with a smile as she placed the needle down on the tray and taped the swab to Zoë's back.

"Thank you, see Nathan." She said looking back at him with a cheeky smile.

"I wanted to be on the safe side, okay?" Nathan said back to her.

"Thanks Liz." Nathan said as she left and nodded at Nathan. Zoë sat back against the chair.

"I told you it was nothing." Zoë said again.

"I know, I wanted to make sure." Nathan said getting a little annoyed he then realised that Zoë was playing around with him and he smiled back at her.

"I've got to attend some other patients now that we've got that all cleared up." Nathan said.

"Are you sure there's nothing else you want to inflict on me while you're here? A hearing test? Stick me with needles?" She said with a big cheeky smile.

"I might do later when I get back, but at the moment, no." He said with a cheeky grin and winked at her. He made for the door and visited his other patients as Zoë sat back in the chair. Zoë took a deep breath as Horatio exhaled. She stood up and leant on the safety bars.

"Hey, are you with me?" Zoë asked sweetly lowering her head. Horatio turned his head to the left and opened his eyes.

"Mmm" Horatio moaned.

"How are you feeling?" Zoë asked with a smile as she wisped Horatio's hair from his forehead over to the side with her hand.

"Better." Horatio mumbled.

"Good." She said with a sweet smile. Horatio brought his left hand up to try and remove the mask again.

"How many times am I going to have to tell you to leave that alone?" She said with a wide grin. Horatio smiled back at her while he then scratched his cheek.

"Well I know one thing, I definitely need a shave." He said as he rubbed his cheeks.

"I don't think a shave is the top of your priority list at the moment." She said with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

"Anyway, there's barely any stubble there." She said smiling still.

"To me it feels like there's stubble." Horatio said as he placed his hand on his chest.

"That's probably because you're always clean shaven, you can barely see it. Don't worry." She said with a grin.

"I can probably get Nathan to give you a shave if you're that desperate?" She said with a cheeky grin.

"I think I can wait." Horatio said with a bigger smile appearing.

"I thought so." Zoë said.

"You look shattered, have you had any rest?" Horatio asked growing concerned.

"Right, you're added to my list, you, Eric and Nathan have to take a class to learn how to improve your compliments." She said with a smile. Horatio smiled and looked down then back up to Zoë.

"I've just had about 17 hours sleep; I don't think I can possibly get anymore rest." She said with a smile.

"I think you're the one that needs to get some more rest." Zoë said raising her eyebrow.

"I've just had about 5 days' worth of rest; I don't think I can possibly get anymore." Horatio said.

"You're getting in the habit of taking my words, aren't you?" Zoë said with a smile, a cheeky grin appeared across Horatio's face under the mask.

"Now, no more cheekiness until you get some rest. May I remind you that you're in hospital for a reason?" Zoë said with a grin. She placed her hand over his.

"Now close those blue eyes, and sleep." She said raising an eyebrow. She let go of his hand and sat down.

"But…" Horatio said but Zoë cut him off.

"I don't hear very much sleeping." She said looking up to him. Horatio laughed as he exhaled with a smile as Zoë stood back up.

"Look honey, if you don't get the sleep that your body needs, you're only going to be in here longer. You and I both know that is not what you want. Is it?" She said softly tilting her head.

"Okay." He exhaled. Zoë sat back down and Horatio closed his eyes. Zoë put her head back as she was asleep instantly, Nathan checked on Horatio every now and then. 3 hours later she woke up while Nathan was taking Horatio's temperature. She sat up and stretched then looked up at the clock.

"Jesus Christ! I closed my eyes for 5 minutes! Not 3 hours!" Nathan looked over to her.

"Well, your brain is obviously tired. I'd let it get all the rest it needs." Nathan said with a smile as Zoë got up and walked around.

"Not going to give me another lumbar puncture, are you?" She said with a cheeky smile looking out of the window.

"No, not just yet." Nathan said looking down at Horatio's notes.

"How is he doing?" Zoë asked.

"Very well." Nathan answered.

"Yeah, he woke earlier, he was wide awake and definitely the same old Horatio, he even managed to slip in a bit of cheekiness." Zoë said with a wide grin appearing across her face.

"That's good news! My guess is that if he rests as much as it's humanly possible, he'll be out of here within 3-4 days. If he doesn't try and push himself." Nathan said looking up at Zoë who was looking out of the window. Zoë turned to him.

"He's going to push himself; it's a part of his character."

"We'll we're just going to have to try our best to keep him in that bed then." Nathan said glancing at Zoë from Horatio's notes.

"Or I'll have to sedate him." Nathan said with a small smile.

"I'd like to see you try that one, I'm certain he'd put up a fight." Zoë's grin widened. Ryan knocked on the door and came in. Zoë turned around to see who it was.

"Hey, how's he doing?" Ryan said walking over to the window by Zoë.

"He's doing really well, I was just telling Zoë that if he rests as much as he can, he should be out of here within 3-4 days." Nathan answered briefly looking up from the notes.

"That's fantastic news!" Ryan said with a smile.

"I'll be back in a little while." Nathan said as he left. Zoë and Ryan nodded at him and he walked through the door. Zoë walked back to her seat and Ryan sat next to her.

"I've got a free evening and I've caught up on all of my work. Do you want to go home and get a shower and something to eat? I'll stay here with H." Ryan asked.

"Thank you Ryan, I think I'll take you up on that offer!" Zoë stood up and picked up her bag, turned to Horatio.

"Don't you go anywhere." She said quietly, she then turned to Ryan and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you pretty boy." She said with a cheeky grin.

"Don't tell me that's going to stick?" Ryan looked up at her with a wide grin himself.

"Oh it sure is." She said as she walked out the door. She went home, fixed herself some toast and had a shower. She got another suit and shirt out and put it on.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Meanwhile at the hospital Horatio had woken up.

"Hey H, are you awake?" Ryan asked as he stood to greet Horatio.

"Mr Wolfe?" Horatio questioned.

"Yes, that's me." He replied.

"How're you feeling?" Ryan asked with a smile.

"A lot better, thank you." Horatio said looking up at Ryan.

"Where's Zoë gone?" Horatio questioned once he looked around.

"She went home to get a shower and something to eat." Ryan said softly.

"Ah good, I'm glad that she is actually taking care of herself and not here 24/7!" Horatio smiled.

"No, more like 23/7." Ryan said with a smile. Horatio laughed a little. Nathan walked into the room.

"Ahh Horatio, how are you feeling?"

"A lot better thank you."

"I think we're safe to take you off the oxygen now then. If you get breathless, you're going to go straight back on it though and I'll know when you get breathless." Nathan said with a smile.

"Finally." Horatio said with an almost excited sigh. Nathan stepped up and turned the oxygen off then took the oxygen mask off Horatio. Horatio took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked.

"Most definitely." Horatio replied with a small smile. Nathan tested Horatio's motor skills again.

"You've got a lot more strength now." Nathan said with a smile.

"So when can I get out of here?" Horatio asked.

"In about 3-4 days, IF you rest constantly. If you push yourself too far, you could end up being in here for another week or two."

"Great. When get I get these out of me then?"

"When you've recovered to a certain extent and when I'm happy that you're well enough to have them out. That one though, will be in until all sign of infection is gone." Nathan said pointing at the IV line in Horatio's left arm. Zoë walked through the door and looked at them all and smiled. Zoë walked over to the bed. Nathan and Ryan both stared at her, she had her long chocolate wavy brown hair down and was wearing in a cream suit and white shirt. She flicked her hair back over her shoulders.

"What are you guys talking about then?" Nathan and Ryan didn't answer.

"Nathan was just telling me when I can go home." Horatio said admiring her.

"He told you that you have to get lots of rest before you can go too?!" Zoë said with a smile.

"Yes, he did." Horatio replied glancing up to Nathan and then to Ryan.

"Didn't you Nathan." Horatio said to try and snap him out of it.

"Yes… yes I did." Nathan said as he looked down at Horatio's notes.

"Yeahhh." Ryan said exhaling.

"What's wrong with you pretty boy?" Zoë said with a cheeky smile.

"Not…nothing." Ryan said as he came back to reality.

"Pretty boy? Each to their own I suppose." Horatio said with a smile. Zoë laughed at Horatio's comment.

"I'll have to tell you how it came to that… it's quite a funny story, isn't it Ryan?" Zoë said with an even cheekier grin.

"Yeah." Ryan said scratching his cheek with the back of his thumb and looking down.

"I'll leave you guys to it." Nathan said as he left.

"See you later." They said as Nathan walked out.

"You're dead." Ryan said to Zoë with a raised eyebrow. Zoë began to laugh at him, she calmed herself down and looked back at Horatio.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"A lot better thank you." Horatio answered.

"I can see that, and you've finally got that oxygen mask off too!" She said with a wide smile. Horatio smiled at her then stifled a yawn.

"I'm terribly sorry." Horatio apologised for yawning.

"Don't worry, I think you need some rest, go back to sleep. You're looking exhausted." Zoë said gently.

"What were you telling me about compliments?" Horatio said with a small smile.

"I need to watch my game around you, don't I?" Zoë said whilst smiling and placing a hand on her hip.

"That, you certainly do." Horatio replied looking up to her with a small grin with his eyebrows raised.

"Try and rest Horatio, the more rest you get, the quicker you get out of here." She said with a smile as she sat down. Ryan walked back around to the seat by Zoë and sat. Horatio relaxed as his exhausted body fell asleep. Zoë sat back herself and lost herself in deep thought. When Ryan hadn't said anything in some time she turned her head and looked over at where he was sitting. He had fallen asleep too with his legs crossed at the ankles and arms lightly crossed. A small smile grew across Zoë's face as she sat back again. She took a breath and her eyes slowly closed. She quickly fell asleep. Nathan walked in a few times to check up on Horatio. Nathan finished work and he went home. Zak took over the care of Horatio for the night. But neither Ryan nor Zoë woke up. Zoë had curled up and was sleeping peacefully in the big chair. At about 10 at night Eric quietly walked in to Horatio's room and found them all asleep. Zak walked in and they greeted each other, Zak introduced himself as did Eric. Eric asked how Horatio was doing and then left once he knew that Horatio was okay. At 6 in the morning Ryan woke up, he looked up at the clock.

"Jesus Christ!" He said as he shot up which had woken Zoë up.

"Ryan?" Zoë asked confused and sleepy.

"Hi Zoë, I'm sorry, I'm going to be late for work, I'll see you later." Ryan said as he left, he rushed down the corridor. '_Oh no, I've got to have a shower before I go to work, Eric's going to have my head._' He said as he rushed to his car and drove home for a shower and change. He rushed into work and saw Eric.

"I'm sorry Eric; I fell asleep at the hospital and…" Ryan began to say when Eric cut him off.

"It's okay Ryan; you're not too late anyway." Eric said with a smile and a small laugh.

Back at the hospital Nathan's shift had started again and he brought Zoë a coffee.

"You're sleeping just as much as he is!" Nathan said with a smile as he handed Zoë the coffee.

"I must be catching up on all the sleep I've missed over the past few years!" She said as she sipped the coffee. Nathan laughed a little.

"How's Horatio doing?" Zoë questioned.

"Just as well as he was last night, he's slept throughout the night too." Nathan said as he wrote something down in Horatio's notes.

"I'll be back in a while okay?" Nathan said as he put Horatio's notes down and walked over to the door.

"Okay, thanks for the coffee Nathan." Zoë replied and Nathan gave her a nod. Zoë sat back with the coffee and began to read her book. Nathan popped in every now and again, he and Zoë didn't exchange many words as Zoë was engrossed in the book. Horatio quietly woke up and Zoë didn't realise. She was sat back in the chair with her legs pulled up under her, silently reading the book.

Horatio shuffled himself to make him more comfortable and then Zoë looked up.

"Hey you, how long have you been awake?" Zoë said as she put her legs down and sat up placing her book on the bedside table.

"Not long, I've just woken up actually." Horatio said as he turned his head to look at her sitting in the chair.

"Ahh, did you sleep well?" Zoë asked.

"Yeah, how about you?" Horatio asked looking at her intently.

"Yeah, I think I'm definitely catching up on all the sleep I've missed over the past few years! Ryan also fell asleep… it must be something about this room." She said as she looked around then back to Horatio.

"It must be." Horatio said with a small smile. Nathan walked back in.

"Hello, good to see you awake!" Nathan said to Horatio with a smile as Horatio gave Nathan a nod. Nathan looked up at Horatio's vitals.

"Horatio, I'm just going to put a nasal cannula on you, your oxygen sats seem to have dropped a little." Nathan said as he walked over to Horatio's bed. He picked up a cannula and gently put it on Horatio.

"Is this really necessary?" Horatio asked looking a little fed up.

"Yes, either that or I can put the oxygen mask on you again." Nathan said detecting the slight frustration in Horatio's voice. Horatio sighed.

"I thought not, it'll only be on for a little while anyway." Nathan said as he put the oxygen flow on.

"How are you feeling today?" Nathan asked.

"Better again." Horatio replied getting used to the oxygen blowing up his nose. Nathan checked Horatio's motor skills again.

"You're getting better by the minute!" Nathan said as Horatio pulled his right foot against his hand.

"I'll order a lumbar puncture for you later. I don't expect the infection to be completely clear yet, but I expect to see a definite improvement. I'll also get some bloods from you, just to make sure that sepsis is well at bay." Nathan said as he updated Horatio's notes.

"Do you want one as well Zoë?" Nathan said with a cheeky smile and winked at her.

"I'd rather not, thanks." Zoë said.

"I'll see you two a little later." Nathan as he walked out of the room. Horatio looked at Zoë confused.

"The other morning, I woke up with a stiff neck from sleeping awkwardly and a headache. Nathan got worried and ordered me a lumbar puncture to make sure I hadn't contracted the infection. I haven't so it's all good. I gave him some stick about it and now he's teasing me." Zoë said with a smile.

"Ahh, well I'm glad he did check up on it! I would have done the same if I were in his position." Horatio said over at Zoë still sitting in the chair.

"Yeah, I know you would have, which is why I didn't argue too much, just a little. That and he was genuinely concerned, so I went along with it." She said with a cheeky smile.

"Well I'm glad you did!" Horatio said with raised eyebrows. A nurse slowly walked through the door, Zoë's eyes immediately met the nurse. Horatio saw the expression on Zoë's face change.

"Sorry, I've just got to collect the cooling blanket." The nurse said as she casually walked over to the table to pick it up. Zoë's eyes were fixed on her as she picked the blanket up. Horatio studied her and tried to pull himself up. Zoë's attention was then all on Horatio. She stood up and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"What are you doing?!" She said as her voice was filling with concern. The nurse walked out.

"Sitting up." Horatio said looking at Zoë trying to keep her attention on him. '_Well, at least I got her attention off that nurse.'_ Horatio thought to himself.

"You should have said; there's a control here." She said as she passed him the bed control.

"Thanks." Horatio said as he pushed the button to pull the head of the bed up slightly. He shuffled himself up.

"Are you okay?" Zoë asked.

"Yeah, just getting comfortable." Horatio said as he shifted himself and then looked down at his open shirt. He slowly brought his right hand up and ran his fingers over the barely visible rash.

"It's gone down a lot now; you had it all over your chest." Zoë said as she watched him look at it. Horatio brought his left hand up and buttoned his shirt up; he left the last one undone like always.

"I really need a shower." Horatio said with a not so happy face.

"I can't help you there, sorry. I could get Nathan to give you a sponge bath, well; he'd probably get someone else to do it." She said with a cheeky smile knowing that he'd refuse and would want to take his own shower.

"No, thank you. I'm well enough to take my own shower." Horatio said.

"How did I know what you were going to say? I can ask Nathan if he thinks you're well enough, but somehow, I don't think he's going to agree to it." Zoë said with a small smile.

"It's worth a try." Horatio said.

"I'll be back in a moment then, don't you get up." She said with a small smile. Horatio nodded at her as she walked out. She found Nathan.

"Hi Nathan."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah fine, Horatio just wants to know if he can go and take a shower."

"No." Nathan bluntly said.

"I told him that you'd say that." She said with a smile.

"I can get a nurse to give him a sponge bath?" Nathan said.

"He's refused that, he's adamant that he can take a shower perfectly well."

"Let's go and see how he's feeling." Nathan replied as they walked back to the room. A nurse was walking down the corridor towards them when Zoë began to slow down.

"Hey, walk on this side of me." Nathan said as he swapped sides with Zoë. They walked slowly towards Horatio's room, the nurse passed and Zoë sped up. They walked into Horatio's room, Zoë looking stressed. She walked around to the right of his bed as Nathan walked around to the left.

"You're not going to be taking a shower." Nathan said looking down at Horatio.

"I'm perfectly well enough to." Horatio said a little frustrated.

"You can have a sponge bath." Nathan said to him calmly.

"No." Horatio said sternly.

"The nurses do it all the time; you've got nothing to worry about it."

"I said no." Horatio said looking at him a little more frustrated.

"Okay. Look, if you're well enough tomorrow; and I decide if you're well enough, you can possibly take a shower then." Nathan said looking at Horatio with a stern look. They were both the 'alphas' of their profession and neither of them liked being told what to do. Horatio let out a long exhale.

"Fine." Horatio said.

"Horatio, Nathan is only helping you." Zoë said looking at Horatio calmly.

"If you got up and had a shower now, you're going to make yourself a lot worse and end up in here longer. I know you want to get out of here as soon as you can, so just listen to him, okay?" Zoë said with a hand on his lower arm. Horatio calmed himself.

"I know; I'm sorry." He said with a calm face.

"No problem." Nathan said calmly.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

"I'll be back in a little while okay?" Nathan said as he walked out. Zoë sat down and looked at Horatio who was sitting in bed.

"I'm sorry about that Zoë." Horatio apologized.

"Don't worry; Nathan said that you could experience mood changes. Don't worry about it." She said with a smile. Horatio looked down to his feet.

"Hey, are you feeling okay?" Zoë asked looking up to him growing a little concerned.

"Yeah." He said as he let his head sink into the pillow and blinked slowly.

"Tired?" Zoë questioned.

"mmm-hmm." Horatio answered.

"Try and get some sleep. I'm just going to step outside; I need to make a phone call." She said as she stood up. Horatio nodded sleepily as Zoë began to walk out. Horatio lifted his head to look at her as she walked away, and then relaxed again. He soon fell asleep. Zoë only stepped outside so Horatio would fall asleep easily, she didn't have to make a call. But sleeping with someone in the room potentially watching you can be quite daunting. Zoë knew that. She walked back in once she thought Horatio had fallen asleep. She quietly sat back down on the chair and began to read again. Nathan popped in a few times while she was reading. 2 hours later Horatio woke again quietly.

"That must be a good book." He said sleepily turning his head and looking down at her.

"Yeah, it is. It's got me completely engrossed in it!" Zoë said as she placed it on the side.

"Could I have some water please?" Horatio asked dryly.

"Of course." Zoë said as she handed him a cup of water. Horatio slowly sat himself up as Zoë placed her right hand on his back to steady him and in case he passed out or something. He finished the cup and Zoë carefully took it from his hand.

"Your strength is really coming along now, isn't it?" Zoë said as she helped him to lie back in the bed.

"Okay?" She asked as he rested his head back in the pillow.

"Yeah, thank you." He said with a smile.

"Do you want me to lower the bed back for you?" She asked softly.

"No, it's okay thank you, I was getting a bit of a back ache with all that lying flat." Horatio said with a small smile.

"Okay honey." She said as she sat back down and picked her book up, she began to read again and Horatio quickly fell asleep. 3 hours later and Zoë finished the book, she got up and stretched her legs then walked over to the window and looked out. She stood there for 10 minutes until Horatio woke. She slowly walked over to the bed and leant on the safety bars.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good, thank you. How are you?" Horatio answered with a sleepy smile.

"I'm good thanks. I finished the book!" She said with a smile. Horatio rubbed his eyes and smiled more alert at her.

"Could I please have some more water?" Horatio asked as he began to sit up a bit more.

"Of course my lovely." She said as he handed him a cup of water. Horatio finished and Zoë took the cup. Horatio shook his right arm because the two IV lines were beginning to get a little tangled.

"Hey, I'll sort that out." Zoë said as she walked around to the left side of the bed. She gently untangled the lines.

"Thank you. When can these things come out?" Horatio said running his left hand through his hair.

"At a guess… tomorrow? I don't know, you'll have to ask Nathan." Nathan walked through the door.

"Ask Nathan what?" He said as he walked up to the bed and stood next to Zoë.

"When these lines can come out." Horatio said looking at him.

"When you're better." Nathan said picking up his notes.

"But I am better." Horatio said beginning to get a little frustrated.

"Believe it or not, you're not completely better." Nathan said quickly looking up from the notes.

"Hopefully, they can come out tomorrow." Nathan said looking back down at the notes.

"Thank God." Horatio said exhaling.

"Sorry Zoë, could you step back, I just need to do a few more things." Zoë stepped back and walked around to the other side, while Nathan took Horatio's temperature and checked his motor skills.

"I'd say that you've almost all of your strength has returned." He said as he wrote a few things down.

"Well that's great!" Zoë said with a big smile. Horatio nodded at her with a smile himself, happy to see that Zoë was happy.

"The neurosurgeon will be down in a little while to do the lumbar puncture, okay? I'll be back then." Nathan said as he put Horatio's notes down and walked out.

"Thank you Nathan." Zoë said as Horatio gave him a nod. Nathan walked out. Zoë walked over to the window.

"I've not been on a run for days, I'm going to suffer when I start again!" She said with a small chuckle.

"Yeah, same here!" Horatio said.

"I don't think you're going to be running for a little while longer yet." Zoë said looking over to him with a raised eyebrow and small smile. Horatio chuckled a little.

"I know." Horatio said with a small laugh. Nathan walked through the door with another doctor.

"Hello, this is Liz, she'll be performing the lumbar puncture, Horatio." Nathan said. They walked over to Horatio's bed.

"Hi there Horatio, could you please sit as far forward if it's possible?" She asked as she put her gloves on.

"Horatio, do you want me to wait outside?" Zoë asked.

"No, it's fine, you can stay." He said as he sat forward then Liz pulled his top up as Nathan held it.

"Sharp scratch." Liz said as she then drew the CFS fluid. Once she had finished she put a small bandage on Horatio's back.

"It looks clear, but I'll have to send it to the lab to confirm." She said as she looked at it, I'll let Nathan know as soon as I know. She said as she got up and left. Horatio nodded at her as he sat back in the bed.

"I'll be back soon with results soon." Nathan said as he walked out too. Eric walked through the door.

"Hey H, Hey Zoë." He said with a big smile, happy to see Horatio up and well.

"Eric, how are you doing?" Horatio said with a smile, happy to see him.

"Well thank you H, how about you?" Eric said as he walked over to Horatio's bed.

"I'm good thanks." Horatio answered.

"When are you getting out of here then?" Eric asked as he stood at Horatio's bed.

"The day after tomorrow." Horatio replied with relief.

"Hopefully." Zoë added.

"You have to rest before you can get out of here." Zoë added as she walked over to the bed beside Eric. Eric chuckled a little.

"Do you want me to nip over to yours H and get you some clean clothes?" Eric asked.

"That would be great, thank you. I don't know where my keys are though?" Horatio said looking around. Zoë picked up the bag with Horatio's belongings and handed it to Horatio. He picked out his keys and passed them to Eric.

"Is there anything else you want me to get for you?" Eric asked.

"Just two clean sets of clothes will do, thank you." Horatio said.

"Sure thing, I'll be back in a little while." Eric said as he turned to walk out.

"Zoë, do you want anything?" Eric aske before he walked out.

"Oh, no thank you Eric." She said with a sweet smile. Eric nodded and then walked out. He drove over to Horatio's and picked up a few clothes.

Meanwhile, at the hospital Nathan had entered Horatio's room.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

"Horatio, I've got good news for you! The lab has just confirmed that you are free from infection; you should be able to go home tomorrow, provided that you're strong enough."

"Thank you Nathan, can I now get these taken out?" Horatio asked looking down at the IV lines in his arms.

"Absolutely, I must say, you've made a fantastic recovery! You've come so far from a few days ago!" Nathan said with a very wide smile. Horatio's smile grew.

"Thank you Nathan." Zoë said with relief blasting throughout her body. Nathan switched the oxygen off and gently took the nasal cannula off Horatio and then turned the drips off. He gently took the two drips out of Horatio's right arm and then walked around to the other side to gently take the drip out from his left arm. He walked back round to the left side.

"Now, would you like a nurse to take out your catheter? I'm not sure you want me taking care of that one." Nathan said with raised eyebrows. Horatio nodded.

"I'll wait outside." Zoë said as she quickly headed for the door and headed out and waited in the corridor as Nathan called for a nurse to come and attend. The nurse walked in and Nathan stepped outside with Zoë. The nurse walked back out of Horatio's room having disposed of the catheter, Nathan and Zoë walked back in.

"I suggest you get as much rest as you can if you're going to go tomorrow, I'll be in and out to check on you." Nathan said with a smile.

"Can you take the leads off my chest now?" Horatio asked.

"If you really want them off, then yes, but you have to keep the pulse oximeter on your finger." Nathan said as he unbuttoned Horatio's shirt and took the leads off.

"Thank you." Horatio said as Zoë moved closer with a smile.

"Thank you Nathan." Zoë said. Nathan nodded and then walked out, while Zoë sat back down. Horatio quickly fell asleep. While Zoë sat in the chair and began to read the other book. Eric then returned and placed Horatio's keys on the side. He placed the folded clothes on the table then sat next to her.

"How's he doing? They've taken his lines out?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, he had a lumbar puncture earlier; he's free from infection now and will probably be going home tomorrow, if he rests enough." Zoë said with a big smile as she put the book on the bedside table.

"That's great news!"

"It certainly is!" Zoë smiled sleepily at Eric.

"Do you want to nip home? I've got it covered here." Eric said as he placed a hand on Zoë's arm.

"Thank you Eric, I'll be back in about half an hour." Zoë said as she stood up slowly.

"Take your time, you don't have to rush." Eric said kindly. Zoë picked up her bag and placed her hand on Eric's shoulder.

"Thank you honey." She said softly as she left. She went home, had a shower, changed and had something to eat. While at the hospital, Alexx had popped by, Eric told her the news and she was happy too. Alexx had to leave soon after as she got a call from her husband. Horatio woke up and shifted.

"Hey H, how are you feeling?" Eric asked as he rose to his feet.

"Good thank you." Horatio answered as he looked over to Eric and then glanced around.

"Zoë's just popped home for a shower." Eric said seeing Horatio look around for her.

"Ah good." Horatio said relaxing back into the pillow.

"H, I've been meaning to talk to you." Eric said as his voice lowered.

"What's the problem Eric?" Horatio asked raising his bed to sit up more growing concerned.

"Well, the other day I was in here with Zoë and a nurse walked in. Zoë seemed to have some sort of panic attack; I'm not sure what caused it. It seemed to be about the nurse, but I'm not sure. I've never seen her act like that before." Eric said with lowered eyebrows.

"Yeah, I know about that. None of us know why, she won't open up to anyone." Horatio sighed.

"Ahh, I see. I was just worried about her." Eric said looking up at Horatio softly.

"I am too, we all are. But if she doesn't want to talk about it, we have to respect that." Horatio said looking up at Eric, feeling his worry.

"Yeah, I just want to know to help her though and you have no idea about what's causing it?" Eric said as he sat down.

"Yeah I know, we all want to help. I don't have any idea." Horatio said. Truthfully though, he had some sort of idea. He wasn't quite sure how nurses had anything to do with it, and he didn't really want to believe it himself. But he didn't want to share anything about at as he knows what it's like to have a secret that you don't want anyone to know. If he said anything to Eric, he'd sever the trust he's built up with Zoë.

"Okay H, I just wanted to bring it up with you, in case there was something we could do to help." Eric said as Horatio gave him a nod. Horatio lowered the bed a little and almost instantly fell asleep.

Zoë returned back to the hospital about 50 minutes after she left.

"Hey, how's he doing? Has he woken up?" She asked as she walked over and quietly placed her bag on the side.

"No, he's been sleeping, Alexx popped by though, I told her the good news but she had to quickly go." Eric said. Frank entered the room.

"Frank?" Eric and Zoë both said.

"Hey, I haven't managed to pop by yet. It's been so hectic, how's he doing now?" Frank said quietly not wanting to wake Horatio.

"He's hopefully going home tomorrow." Zoë said smiling at Frank.

"That's fantastic news! Again, I apologise about not visiting!" Frank said sincerely.

"Don't worry Frank, we understand." Eric said with a smile.

"How's your mother doing?" Zoë asked.

"Not so well, the health nurse is visiting 3 times a day to help her eat, but the doctors say she's not going to live past next month." Frank said as he looked at the floor.

"I'm so sorry Frank." Zoë said followed by Eric.

"She's had a good life though." Frank said with a small smile.

"Yeah, that she has." Eric said with a smile.

"If there's anything we can do Frank, let us know, okay?" Zoë said softly.

"Thank you Zoë. I'll bare that in mind. For now, I should get back. Sorry. Could you tell him that I popped by?" Frank said.

"Of course Frank, I'll see you soon." Zoë said with a kind smile. Eric nodded.

"See you soon." He said with a small smile. Frank turned around and left.

"I should be off too, I'll see you tomorrow Zoë. Give me a call when they release him, I'll try and give you a hand." Eric said as he rose to his feet.

"Thank you Eric, I'll see you tomorrow." Eric left and Zoë sat back in the seat. She quickly fell asleep. Nathan went home after checking on Horatio a few times and Zak took over. At 4 in the morning Horatio woke up, he looked over to Zoë who was restlessly sleeping in the chair. She seemed to be whimpering. Horatio studied her a little trying to make out some of the mumbled words she was saying. Most of the mumbled words just sounded like 'no' but she seemed to be terrified and in pain looking at the expression on her face. Once she stopped and relaxed into a deeper sleep Horatio relaxed himself. He slowly fell asleep and was awoken at 6.30 by Zoë mumbling words loudly and whimpering again. She threw the blanket that Nathan had placed on her last night off.

"Get away from me!" She seemed to mumble loudly.

"Mum? Mum?! Get away from her you monster!" She mumbled. She doubled over, screamed then woke up. Horatio instantly sat up very concerned. Zoë was breathing deeply; she ran her hands through her hair and walked over to the window.

"Hey, are you okay Zoë?" Horatio asked lowly growing more concerned. Zoë took a deep breath and turned to Horatio dropping her arms down.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said with a forced smile.

"It was just a dream." She said exhaling violently. She slowly walked back over to Horatio's bed.

"Lay down honey, you should be resting. I'm so sorry for waking you." She said softly.

"You didn't wake me. Are you sure you're okay?" He asked worried about her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said again with another forced smile.

"Lay down honey." She said softly.

"You know you can always talk to me about anything, don't you." Horatio said placing his hand on hers as she was leaning on the safety bar.

"Horatio, please leave it." She said quietly and softly as she looked down at the floor then back up to him.

"Okay." He said softly as she pulled her hand from under his.

"Please lie down honey; you should be resting if you want to go home today." Horatio gave her a small smile. Horatio understood and left it. He laid back down and Zoë sat down. She rubbed her face and took a deep breath. Horatio was still concerned, he wanted to help her but he understood that she didn't want help, he knew how she felt. He relaxed back into the pillow then looked over to the table where he had a clean set of clothes.

"Frank popped over last night; he said he's sorry that he hasn't been able to visit." Zoë said as she had calmed down. Horatio smiled at her.

"How's his mother?" Horatio questioned.

"Not so good, Frank said the health nurse is over 3 times a day and the doctors say she has about a month." Zoë said softly looking at Horatio with kind eyes.

"Oh no." Horatio said exhaling.

"I know, he seems to be coping well though." Zoë said gently.

"Well, that's good to know." Horatio said looking at Zoë with his calm blue eyes. Nathan walked in.

"How are you feeling today?" Nathan asked with a fresh smile.

"Like I need a shower." Horatio replied as Nathan chuckled a little as he walked over to the bed. It brought a smile to Zoë's face.

"I tell you what, I need to do my morning rounds, then I'll come back, give you a proper check over then you can have a shower, IF I say you can. Okay?" Nathan said with a wide smile.

"Okay, fantastic." Horatio replied.

"I'll see you in a bit." Nathan said as he wrote down Horatio's vitals then left. Zoë smiled at Horatio as she got up.

"Just nipping to the bathroom." She said as she walked into the en-suite. She went to the loo and brushed her teeth. She came out feeling a little more refreshed. She sat down and exhaled.

"Sleep well?" She asked Horatio.

"Yeah, slept most of the night, only woke up once." He said with a smile.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Really well." He answered.

"Really?" She questioned with a small cheeky smile.

"Yes, I'm a little tired, but that's understandable." He said. Zoë smiled at him happy to know that he was feeling a lot better.

"In future, please tell me if you're feeling unwell, I don't want anything like this EVER happening again." She said with a smile.

"Certainly, and thank you Zoë, thank you for everything." He said sincerely.

"Don't mention it honey." She said with a smile.

"Now get some rest before Nathan comes back." She said as she sunk into the chair. Horatio gave her a nod and let his head sink into the pillow. Horatio gently drifted off into a shallow sleep as did Zoë, they both woke when Nathan entered the room an hour later.

"Oh sorry." He apologised as he woke them up.

"Don't worry." They both said, as Zoë sat up.

"Right, how are you feeling?" Nathan said as Horatio picked his head up.

"Ready for a shower." Horatio said as he began to sit up.

"Lay back down please Horatio." Nathan asked and Horatio did as he was asked. Nathan gave him a full check over, he checked his motor skills to see if he was strong enough.

"Okay, are you sure you're okay?" Nathan asked just to make sure.

"Yes, I feel fine." Horatio assured him.

"Okay, we're going to get you out of the bed slowly, you're to move very slowly otherwise you're going to pass out and end up in here for another day. You're not allowed to lock the door and you're to shout for me if you feel unwell or need any help. Okay? Are we clear?" Nathan asked.

"We're clear." Horatio answered as he sat up. Zoë picked up his clothes and quickly placed them in the en-suite as Nathan walked around to the right side of the bed and pulled the safety bar down. Horatio swivelled himself and dangled his legs over the side. Zoë came over and stood just by him with Nathan on the other side after she had moved the chairs. Nathan took the pulse oximeter off Horatio's finger and placed it on the bed.

"Slowly ease on to your feet, okay, we've got you." Nathan said calmly. Nathan took a hold of Horatio's left arm and Zoë held on to his right arm. Horatio slowly eased onto his feet and was then standing. He exhaled as he swayed a little feeling slightly light-headed.

"You okay?" Nathan asked cautiously.

"Yeah, just give me a minute." Horatio answered as he took a few more deep breaths.

"Do you want to sit back down?" Nathan asked.

I will hopefully finish this story by tomorrow (Tuesday).


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

"No, I'm fine." Horatio answered quickly. Horatio steadied and both Zoë and Nathan loosened their grip on Horatio. They slowly walked over to the bathroom.

"Your clothes are in there as well as some shampoo and soap." Zoë said as she let go of him.

"Give me a shout if you need anything." Nathan said as he let go of him. Horatio slowly closed the door, undressed and got in the shower. '_Ahh, that's so much better!' _He thought to himself. Nathan waited outside the door while Zoë went to sit back down. They heard the shower turn off. Horatio dried himself and changed, he pulled off the sticky ECG pads that eased off easily as they were wet. He opened the door.

"Ahh, that's so much better!" he said with his damp ruffled hair everywhere. Both Nathan and Zoë chuckled. Horatio walked back to the bed with Nathan following closely behind. Horatio sat on the bed and put his feet up. He placed the suit and shirt he didn't wear on the table along with his dirty clothes.

"When can I go now?" Horatio asked.

"I'll get your discharge papers in a little while, okay?" Nathan said.

"How are you feeling?" Zoë asked as she got up and walked over to the bed.

"Fresh." He said smiling at Zoë as she smiled back at him.

"I'll be back in about 15 minutes with the papers okay?" Nathan said as he walked out of the room. Zoë pulled out her phone and rang Eric.

"Hi Eric, Horatio's going to be discharged in about 15 minutes."

"Okay, I'll be there in 10." Eric said.

"See you soon." Zoë said softly.

"See you soon." Eric replied and they hung up.

"Eric's going to meet us here." Zoë said as she looked at Horatio.

"Eric doesn't have to come, I'm fine." Horatio said.

"We're only going to make sure you get home safely and are okay, once you're home, we're going to leave you alone." Zoë said with a smile. Horatio gave her a quick smile.

"I'm just going to put your belongings in my bag for the moment, you'll get them back when we get to yours, and your gun is also in my bag." Zoë said as she placed his stuff in her handbag.

"How do you fit it all in there?" Horatio asked curiously.

"Because it's bigger on the inside." She said with a wide smile as she then put his clothes in there too.

"It's like a suitcase!" Horatio said surprised at the amount of things she's just put in there.

"You could say that, yes." She said with an even bigger smile. Nathan walked back in the with the papers. Eric then walked in and stood by Zoë.

"Hey H, how're you doing?" Eric asked.

"Really well, thank you Eric." Horatio said with a smile as he signed where Nathan pointed.

"You're free now. Don't forget to rest!" Nathan said happily.

"I assume I can just go back to work?" Horatio asked.

"No, you go back to work when you're completely better."

"So tomorrow?" Horatio said.

"No, perhaps the day after tomorrow, but you can't push yourself too much, if you push yourself too much, you'll only end up back in here." Nathan said with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, I've got it." Horatio said.

"Don't worry, he won't be working tomorrow." Eric said giving Horatio a quick glance. Horatio looked at him.

"That one's going to sting later." Eric said cheekily and quietly to Zoë. Zoë began to laugh; she calmed herself when Nathan and Horatio were staring at her.

"I'm sorry, carry on." She said with a wide grin.

"So no work tomorrow and get lots of rest, if you have any problems, call me or come back, okay?" Nathan asked as Horatio slowly got off the bed and stood up.

"Wait a moment; I need to get the wheelchair." Nathan said with a smile as he picked up the paper work. He walked out and came back with a wheelchair.

"Is that necessary?" Horatio asked.

"Hospital protocol." Nathan quickly said. Horatio sat in the chair. Zoë picked her bag up and they all walked out of the room. Eric and Zoë followed closely to Nathan who was pushing Horatio. They got outside the hospital.

"I'll follow behind the both of you." Eric said as they walked out.

"I'll bring my car around, okay?" Zoë rushed off to get her car and drove it around." She parked it up and got out. She walked around to the path and opened the passenger door. Nathan put the brakes on as Horatio stood up.

"Slowly." Nathan reminded him. Horatio stumbled a little and Eric grabbed him Zoë took a hold of his arm too.

"If you go slowly, that won't happen, or it won't be so bad." Nathan added.

"Are you okay?" Zoë asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Horatio replied.

"Okay, let's get you in the car." Zoë said softly as they helped Horatio to the car and sat him in the passenger seat. Eric closed the door as Horatio put his seatbelt on.

"Thank you so much Nathan." Zoë said as she shook his hand, Eric did the same. Zoë walked around the car and got in and put the passenger window down.

"Thank you doctor." Horatio said casually.

"Lieutenant." Nathan said giving Horatio a nod. Eric bent down to the window as Zoë put her seatbelt on.

"I'll meet you at H's place. See you soon." Eric stood back up as Zoë slowly pulled off. Eric gave Nathan a nod and rushed over to his hummer as Nathan walked back inside smiling, happy that he had helped Horatio and Zoë.

"You okay honey?" Zoë asked as she was driving.

"Yeah, happy to be out of there!" Horatio said with a smile. Eric had caught up with them and Zoë could see him in her rear-view mirror.

"If you need anything or have any problems, you call me okay? I'm only down the road. I'll pop over tomorrow just to make sure you're resting and okay, alright?" Zoë said softly as she pulled out on to the main road.

"Yes, okay. Thank you Zoë." He said looking out of the window.

"Nearly there now." Zoë said as she was concentrating on the road. Horatio took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Zoë asked quickly glancing over at him.

"Yes, I'm fine, I was just breathing." Horatio said with a cheeky smile as Zoë quickly glanced at him again.

"Well, I have to check since you don't tell us when you're feeling unwell." She said with a smile looking back at the road.

"Fair enough." Horatio said with a small chuckle.

They pulled into their road and then Zoë pulled up onto Horatio's drive.

"Wait there." Zoë said as she took the keys out of the ignition, she leant back through the gaps in the seats and picked up her handbag. She got out of the car and closed her door. Eric pulled up on the road just outside his house as Zoë walked around the car and opened Horatio's door. Eric walked up the drive as Horatio got out of the car. He stumbled a little but Zoë had a tight grip on his arm. Horatio stepped back from the car as Zoë closed the door. Zoë let go of Horatio to look in her bag for his keys. Eric took a gentle hold of Horatio as Zoë pulled his keys out, she handed them to Horatio. Horatio walked up to his door with Zoë and Eric following closely.

Horatio opened the door and walked in.

"Are you going to be okay H?" Eric asked.

"I'm going to be fine." He said with a smile.

"If you need anything, ring me." Zoë said.

"Sure." Horatio said and smiled at her.

"We'll see you later then." Zoë said.

"See you later H." Eric said.

"See you later, thank you both." Horatio said as he stood at his door.

"Oh, Horatio, here's your things." Zoë said as she passed him his clothes and a bag with his possessions in.

"Thank you." Horatio said as he took hold of them.

"Bye." Zoë said as she turned around with Eric.

"Bye." Horatio said as he closed the door.

"What are you going to do now?" Eric asked as Zoë stood at her car.

"I'm going to get to the lab and start work." Zoë said with a smile.

"Are you sure you don't want to get some rest?" Eric asked.

"I'm sure, I've certainly had enough rest." She said with a big grin as she opened her door.

"I'll see you there then." Eric said.

"See you there." Zoë said as she sat in her seat and closed the door while Eric walked back to his hummer. They both arrived at work and Zoë caught up with all of the relevant cases. At the end of the day they went home. Zoë finally got some rest in her bed and then went back to work properly the next day. After work she popped round to Horatio's to check up on him.

She knocked on his door.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

Horatio answered the door in a t-shirt and joggers.

"Come in Zoë."

"You don't live in suits?" She asked sarcastically, as Horatio chuckled at her.

"How are you feeling Horatio?" Zoë asked as they walked through to the kitchen.

"I'm feeling really good thank you, it feels so good to be back home, in my own bed." Horatio said with a gleaming smile.

"I'm happy you're okay!" She said as she smiled at him.

"I'd offer you a coffee, but I haven't got any milk; or anything really. Sorry." Horatio apologised.

"Don't worry, I'll pop to the shop for you, I'll be right back." She said

"Zoë you don't have to." Horatio said with his head tilted.

"I want to." She said as she turned to head back out.

"I'll see you in a bit, now go and rest." She said with a smile quickly glancing back at him.

Zoë opened the door and closed it behind her. She got in her car and got Horatio a few things from the shop; she drove back to his and knocked on the door and Horatio answered.

"Come in." Horatio said as he stood back from the door to let her in.

He closed the door after her as she took the shopping through to the kitchen. He followed her through, he put the shopping away after he said thank you.

"Do you want a coffee or something?"

"Oh no thank you honey." She said with a smile.

"How are you feeling?" She asked as he leant on the island counter.

"Really good thank you, yourself?" He said with a smile.

"Tired, going back to work after doing nothing is tiring." She said with a smile.

"I'll be returning to work tomorrow." Horatio said with a hesitant smile hoping that she wasn't going to argue with him.

"I'll drive you tomorrow morning as your car is still at work, what time do you want me to pick you up?" Zoë said with a smile.

"Ah thank you, Zoë. Erm, 6am? Or is that too early for you?" Horatio asked shyly.

"6am is fine." She said with a smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow at 6am then." She said.

"See you tomorrow." He said and showed Zoë out.

"Thank you again." Horatio said. Zoë left and drove up the road and pulled into her drive. The next morning she picked Horatio up and made sure he was feeling okay. She took him to work and he got through the day really well, he was feeling a lot better, although somewhat tired at the days end, but he didn't seem to have any lasting damages.

THE END

Thank you all for reading! I hope you've enjoyed this story, I've enjoyed writing it! Plenty more stories to come!

Please review. I know I still need to work on my endings as they are currently awful, it's always the worst part of the story!


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